Department of Health and Social Care

British Pharmacopoeia Commission: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the British Pharmacopoeia Commission has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

James Morris: The below table shows a breakdown of external consultants’ suppliers for the past five years for the British Pharmacopoeia Commission. All years denoted are financial years.YearAmount (£)20220202102020020190201818,000 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

James Morris: The following table shows the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's expenditure on external consultancy in each of the last five years. All years denoted are financial years.201820192020202120221,935,469.553,492,523.073,446,036.607,324,292.1615,638,494.56  Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Commission on Human Medicines: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Commission on Human Medicines has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The Commission on Human Medicines has incurred no expenditure on external consultants.

Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment is a Government Advisory Committee and does not directly incur expenditure on external consultancy.

Department of Health and Social Care: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in the core Department in each of the last five years. Fully audited data for 2021/22 will be available later this year.2020/212019/212018/192017/182016/17£171,613,000£15,203,000£19,829,000£12,402,000£4,485,000 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Independent Reconfiguration Panel: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Independent Reconfiguration Panel has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: There has been no expenditure on external consultancy by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel in the last five years.

NHS Blood and Transplant: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS Blood and Transplant has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted, (c) specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows NHS Blood and Transplant's expenditure on external consultancy in each year since 2017/18.2021/222020/212019/202018/192017/18£150,000£2,237,000£567,000£0£0 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Notifiable Diseases

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who are infected with Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

Maggie Throup: In England, there were two laboratory confirmed cases of measles and seven mumps infections reported in 2021. No new laboratory confirmed cases of rubella have been reported in the United Kingdom since 2019.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help NHS to manage covid-19 over the autumn and winter period following the rise in hospitalisations in covid-19 during the summer.

Maggie Throup: The Government aims to manage and respond to COVID-19 risks through routine public health interventions and increasing the National Health Service’s resilience to respond to seasonal pressures. NHS England’s winter preparedness plans are communicated to local systems and are currently being reviewed to include the potential impact of COVID19 infection rates.Symptomatic testing for specific groups in high-risk health and care settings will continue until at least March 2023. In addition, during periods of high prevalence, asymptomatic testing will be available in high-risk settings. Enhanced personal protective equipment will be provided to protect healthcare workers and the patients in line with the latest guidance.Specific programmes such as the autumn booster vaccination campaign and antiviral treatments for those at increased of COVID-19 infection will also manage the risk from the virus and reduce severe illness and hospitalisations. The Government will continue to keep the response under review to ensure it remains effective and proportionate.

NHS: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional support in (a) Portsmouth, (b) the South East and (c) England with (i) recruitment and (ii) retention of NHS (A) GPs, (B) dentists, (C) clinical staff and (D) clerical staff.

James Morris: In 2020, the GP Contract Framework announced new retention schemes in addition to continuing support for existing schemes for the general practice workforce. The Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme provides a one-off financial incentive of £20,000 to attract doctors to train in locations where there have been challenges to recruitment. In 2022, there are 800 places available in England and 32 posts in Portsmouth. To support Primary Care Networks (PCNs), the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme provides funding for 26,000 additional roles to create bespoke multi-disciplinary teams in general practice. PCNs assess the needs of the local population and work with local community services to ensure that the appropriate services are available, including in the South East and Portsmouth.The Department and NHS England have recently announced improvements to the National Health Service dental system in England to increase access, target patients with higher oral health needs and make NHS dentistry a more attractive to work for dentists and their teams, including in the South East and Portsmouth.The Department has commissioned Health Education England to review long term strategic trends for the health and regulated social care workforce. This will ensure that the appropriate skills and behaviours are available to deliver high standards of care. This framework will also include regulated professionals working in social care, such as nurses and occupational therapists. In addition, we have commissioned NHS England to develop a long term workforce plan, including supply and demand projections. The conclusions of this plan will be available in due course.

Hospitals: Constrcution

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for announcing the shortlist of the Trusts that have been selected as one of the eight new hospitals programme schemes.

Maria Caulfield: We are currently reviewing the expressions of interest received from trusts, which are being assessed with analysis of existing official data approved by trust executives. This includes review and challenge from regional National Health Service leaders to provide expertise on local system priorities. A national panel will consider this evidence and analysis to provide advice to Ministers on a shortlist. We aim to announce the final decision later in the year.

Medicine: Training

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical school places were available at UK universities, by university, in each year since 2010.

Maria Caulfield: This information is not collected in the format requested. However, in England the number of medical school places is regulated by the Government through annual intake targets operated by the Office for Students. A table showing medical intake targets for each higher education provider in England in each academic year from 2012/13 to 2022/23 is attached.Schools are permitted a tolerance to allow for uncertainty throughout the application and offers process, therefore the number of places offered may differ from the target.Attachment (xlsx, 23.5KB)

Consultants: Conditions of Employment and Working Hours

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in reference to the Royal College of Physician Census 2021, what assessment he has made of for the implications of his policies of the 45 per cent of consultants reported to (a) work excessive hours and (b) have an excessive workload; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: A full-time consultant is contracted to work 40 hours a week and any additional activity above this level is optional. A consultant’s objectives are mutually agreed between the job holder and the employer through the Job Plan process. Job Plans are annually reviewed and where a consultant’s workload or working hours exceeds agreed levels, it should be raised with the employer in the first instance.We have regular discussions with trade unions on contractual working arrangements and to reach agreement on contract reform for consultants which reflects their role in the National Health Service and improves patient care.

Electronic Cigarettes

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Trading Standards resources for (a) the enforcement of age of sale restrictions on e-cigarettes and (b) illicit product checks on e-cigarette retailers.

Maggie Throup: No recent assessment has been made.

Vaccination: Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the number of young people who have not received their standard vaccinations and provide opportunity for them to receive their vaccines.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency publishes data for all national routine immunisation programmes, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptakeThe National Health Service is redeploying the workforce to support the adolescent immunisation programmes, with school-based and community clinics offering catch-up vaccinations. Communication campaigns have been launched on the importance and safety of these vaccinations, including targeted MMR and polio campaigns to reach the under-vaccinated. Those who may have missed a routine immunisation or are unsure of their immunisation status are encouraged to consult their general practitioner.

Diagnosis: Standards

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current diagnosis target for the Faster Diagnosis Standard.

Maria Caulfield: The Faster Diagnosis Standard was introduced in April 2020 with an initial performance threshold of 75% as services recover from the pandemic. NHS England keeps this threshold under review. The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ states that NHS England aims to achieve the 75% Faster Diagnosis Standard nationally by March 2024.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle alcohol harm in LGBTQ+ communities.

Maggie Throup: Through the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, we are investing £532 million over three years to support local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. The strategy committed to developing a national drug and alcohol commissioning quality standard which will require local authorities to commission services to meet the needs of local populations, including for those with protected characteristics. The standard will be published shortly. Local authorities are responsible for allocating the investment in drug and alcohol services, based upon an assessment of the local population’s health needs. Local authorities will adhere to the new commissioning quality standard and increased support for workforce development and capacity will be provided.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a new alcohol strategy.

Maggie Throup: There are no current plans to do so. There are existing measures to address the harms caused by alcohol and support the most vulnerable at risk from misuse, including establishing specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals.

Cancer: Radiotherapy

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase (a) capacity of and (b) access to radiotherapy cancer treatment in (i) England and (ii) Liverpool.

James Morris: In 2022/23, NHS England intend to undertake a capacity and demand review of external beam radiotherapy capacity, including the replacement of equipment. NHS England has committed to review the payment arrangements for radiotherapy, to ensure that appropriate incentives are in place to encourage providers to increase access to new treatments and techniques and upgrade and replace equipment.New radiotherapy methods are being delivered through targeted treatment in fewer hospital visits to minimise patient time in hospital. Radiotherapy is also included in the Elective Recovery Fund, which aims to support NHS providers increase capacity in elective services, including for cancer treatment.The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre provides radiotherapy for Cheshire and Merseyside and has sufficient equipment capacity to meet the needs of the local population. Radiotherapy is provided at three sites in Aintree, Liverpool and the Wirral to improve access and reducing travel times.

IVF

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the number of individuals under 40 who meet the criteria for IVF in the NICE guidelines but have not been provided with (a) three full cycles of IVF and (b) any IVF treatment in each of the past five years.

James Morris: We have no plans to make a specific assessment as the information requested is not collected centrally.

Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the Advisory Committee for Clinical Impact Awards’ (previously the Clinical Excellence Awards) expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each of the last five years. 2020/212019/202018/192017/182016/17£247,500£40,900£0£0£0  Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Human Tissue Authority: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Human Tissue Authority has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the Human Tissue Authority’s expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each of the last five years.2020/212019/202018/192017/182016/17£128,593£210,512£159,01159,583£30,442 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Pharmacy: Closures

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of levels of pharmacy closures in areas of deprivation.

James Morris: In England there are over 11,000 community pharmacies providing National Health Service pharmaceutical services. An estimated 98% of the population in areas of high deprivation live within 20 minutes’ walk of a community pharmacy.The Department monitors the market and works with NHS England to ensure patient access to pharmaceutical services is maintained. The Pharmacy Access Scheme provides financial support to community pharmacies in areas where there are fewer premises.

Health Professions: Cancer and Diagnosis

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will provide additional funding for expanding the (a) cancer and (b) diagnostic workforce in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.

Maria Caulfield: Health Education England is investing an additional £50 million in 2022/23 to increase the cancer nursing and scientific workforce and expand the postgraduate medical training of key cancer-related medical professions, including pathologists, histopathologists, clinical radiologists and oncologists. Plans for individual budgets from 2023/24 to 2024/25 will be finalised in due course.

Cancer: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish the 10-year cancer plan.

James Morris: The 10-Year Cancer Plan is currently under review and further information will be available in due course.

Anxiety: Young People

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources his Department has allocated to help the treatment of anxiety disorders amongst young people.

Gillian Keegan: We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24, which will allow an additional 345,000 children and young people to access mental health support, including for anxiety disorders. In 2021/22, we provided an additional £500 million to expand mental health service provision and to target groups whose mental health have been most affected by the pandemic, including young people. Of this, £79 million was allocated to children’s mental health services to accelerate the launch of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. These teams provide interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Mental health support teams are currently available for approximately 25% of pupils, with a planned increase to 35% by 2023/24.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a minimum threshold of illness is in place for GPs needing to refer patients to CAMHS.

Gillian Keegan: There are no national minimum thresholds or criteria for referrals to children and young people’s mental health services. Access to these services is managed by local integrated care systems, based on clinical need and the choices of service users.

NHS: Staff

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the long term workforce strategy will be published.

Maria Caulfield: The outcomes of the long term workforce plan will be available in due course.

NHS: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of additional support for the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of NHS medical staff in medical schools in (i) Portsmouth, (ii) the South East of England and (iii) England.

Maria Caulfield: We have no current plans to do so. The recruitment and retention of National Health Service medical staff is the responsibility of individual medical schools.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the new Integrated care systems will be expected to produce drug and alcohol and substance misuse strategies.

Maggie Throup: Integrated care partnerships are required by the Health and Care Act 2022 to develop integrated care strategies. We anticipate that the forthcoming statutory guidance for these strategies will highlight the involvement of drug and alcohol treatment providers as strategies are developed. On 15 June 2022, guidance was issued on how local delivery partners, including the National Health Service and local authorities, should form multi-agency Combating Drugs Partnerships to reduce drug-related harm. These partnerships will develop a shared local plan, alongside other local delivery programmes such as integrated care strategies, to address the priorities identified by the cross-Government drugs strategy.

Integrated Care Systems: Public Health

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that public health has a prominent role in the new Integrated Care Systems and in the strategies they produce.

Maggie Throup: Integrated care systems will work with a range of local health and care organisations on priorities such as addressing health disparities and improving population health.Integrated care partnerships are required by the Health and Care Act 2022 to develop integrated care strategies on how the health needs identified in local Joint Strategic Needs Assessments will be met. We anticipate that forthcoming statutory guidance for these strategies will highlight improving population health, prevention of ill-health and health protection and the importance of involving local Directors of Public Health in the preparation of the strategies.

Electronic Cigarettes: Environment Protection

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is taking to assess the environmental sustainability of disposable e-cigarettes when reviewing product notifications.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency conducts physical tests on product samples when it scrutinises notified e-cigarette products.

Maggie Throup: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) do not assess the environmental sustainability of vapes or e-cigarettes when reviewing product notifications. However, producers of vapes placing more than five tonnes of such equipment on the United Kingdom market each year are obliged to register with the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) producer compliance scheme.If producers do not register with this scheme, the Environment Agency can take enforcement action. We are working with the Environment Agency to remind vape suppliers of the regulations related to the WEEE scheme and encourage registration.While the MHRA is responsible for assessing data submitted by suppliers through the notification of products, this does not include testing products. Prior to submitting a notification, data must meet the minimum mandatory requirements, including declarations requiring the producer to take full responsibility for the product. Once these automated mandatory checks have been confirmed, the submission can be assessed by the MHRA for compliance with the regulations.

Dental Services: Reform

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 11 April 2022 to Question 146595 Dental Services: Reform and NHS England's announcement on 19 July 2022 on better access to NHS dental services under new reforms, what the timeframe is for the (a) current and (b) next phase of engagement to introduce wider reforms that benefit patients and staff; and if he will make a statement.

James Morris: We anticipate that these measures will be in place by the end of 2022, subject to Parliamentary approval. NHS England is planning further discussions with the British Dental Association on the scope for further reforms of the NHS dental system, which will commence shortly.

Health Education England: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much Health Education England has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows Health Education England's expenditure on external consultancy in each year since 2017/18 for which data is available. 2020/212019/202018/192017/182016/17£524,807£200,340£289,130£232,855£45,436  Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Dental Services: Standards

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) teledentistry and (b) other telehealth technologies and practices maintain professional standards.

James Morris: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator responsible for the regulation of dentists and dental care practitioners in the United Kingdom. The GDC provides the standards of conduct, performance and ethics that govern dental professionals, which apply in all clinical settings, including teledentistry. The GDC has also issued guidance for dental professionals and patients on direct-to-consumer orthodontics. Service providers offering remote medical advice are required to register with the Care Quality Commission where immediate attention or action is required or triage is provided.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the additional workforce required to staff the 25 new mobile breast screening vans announced as part of the Women’s Health Strategy for England.

James Morris: While no specific estimate has yet been made, NHS England is working with breast screening providers to develop in-year workforce plans. This will consider local models of delivery, the needs of the local population and any additional equipment and estate requirements.

Consultants: Vacancies

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Physician Census 2021, what assessment he has made of 52 per cent of advertised consultant physicians posts in England and Wales unfilled in 2021.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. The Department has commissioned Health Education England to review the long-term strategic framework for the health and regulated social care workforce. This will ensure that the workforce has the appropriate skills and behaviours to deliver high standards of care. The outcomes of this review will be available in due course.

Dental Services: Waiting Lists

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current waiting time is for someone to register with an NHS dentist when moving to a new area.

James Morris: The information requested is not held centrally, as appointments and registrations for National Health Service treatment are managed directly by dental practices.

Drugs: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase funding for substance misuse services.

Maggie Throup: The cross-Government drugs strategy, ‘From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’ is investing an additional £900 million over the next three years. This includes £780 million for the delivery of treatment and recovery services. This is addition to £148 million allocated for measures to reduce crime, including £80 million for drug treatment services in England in 2021/22 and funding for local authority drug and alcohol services through the annual Public Health Grant.

Pharmacy: Standards

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce dispensing errors in community pharmacies.

James Morris: The Pharmacy (Preparation and Dispensing Errors – Registered Pharmacies) Order 2018 was amended to enable pharmacists to access defences against prosecution following an inadvertent dispensing error. The defences were drafted to incentivise the reporting of errors to enable learning. A survey by the Community Pharmacy Patients Safety Group found that following the amendment, 95% of pharmacists stated that errors were now reported to improve practice.In 2022, these defences will be extended to pharmacists working outside a registered premises. It is expected that this will lead to further reporting of dispensing errors and provide greater learning opportunities which will increase patient and consumer safety in registered premises and other pharmacy services.

Dental Services: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to (a) increase and (b) expedite the recruitment of dentists from overseas for NHS work; if he will take steps to (i) enable increased recognition of NHS equivalent overseas dental qualifications and (ii) retain the number of dentists currently undertaking NHS work; and if he will make a statement.

James Morris: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator for dentists and dental care professionals in the United Kingdom. All dentists and dental care professionals are required to register with the GDC in order to practice in the UK. The GDC assesses the skills, knowledge and experience of healthcare professionals who have qualified outside of the UK to ensure standards of practice are met. As an independent body, the GDC is responsible for these arrangements.The Department recently consulted on legislative changes to provide the GDC with greater flexibility to establish alternative routes to registration for international applicants. Officials are analysing the responses received and the Government’s response will be published later this year. Subject to the outcome of the consultation and the Parliamentary approval, we aim to introduce the legislative changes in autumn 2022. The GDC will determine how this flexibility can be applied, with up to 12 months to introduce changes to its international registration processes, including stakeholder consultation.

Cancer: Health Services

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) radiotherapy cancer professionals and (b) the health trade unions as part of the development of the 10-Year Cancer Plan.

James Morris: The call for evidence to inform the development of the 10 Year Cancer Plan sought the views of individuals, professionals and organisations on the future of cancer care, including trade unions and radiotherapy cancer professionals. We have received a response from The Society of Radiographers. Officials have also held discussions with relevant stakeholders, including the Royal College of Radiologists.

Huntington's Disease: Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many neuropsychiatrists practicing in the NHS are trained in providing mental health support to people with Huntington's Disease.

James Morris: The information requested is not held centrally.

Department of Health and Social Care: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows Departmental expenditure on temporary and agency staff in 2020/21 and 2019/20. This includes agency retainer fees which are not recorded separately. Fully audited data for 2021-22 will be available later this year.2020/212019/20£542,021,000£14,842,000

Cancer: Diagnosis

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of cancer diagnoses made at stage one.

James Morris: The NHS Long Term Plan set out the ambition for 75% of cancers to be diagnosed at stage one or two by 2028.The NHS Cancer Programme aims to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and encourage people to seek advice where appropriate; modernise existing cancer screening programmes and screen or monitor those most at risk due to genetic or lifestyle factors; and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of general practitioner referrals. The Programme also seeks to maximise genomic testing capability and explore new technologies such as ‘liquid biopsy’, increase diagnostic capacity and streamline care pathways to ensure that a definitive diagnosis is made within 28 days.

Brain Cancer: Health Education

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support public awareness of the signs and symptoms of brain tumours.

James Morris: While there are no specific awareness campaigns planned, the National Health Service ‘Help us help you’ campaign focuses on the barriers which prevent people from seeking advice for symptoms in all cancer types, including brain tumours. Those searching for NHS advice online on the potential signs of cancer will be directed to the appropriate information and encouraged to consult their general practitioner as soon as possible.

Lung Diseases: Health Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to amend the respiratory outcomes section in the update of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, If he will include metrics on the uptake of biologics for severe asthma in the update to the NHS Long Term Plan.

Gillian Keegan: The Department and NHS England are currently reviewing delivery of the commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including those relating to respiratory outcomes. The update to the NHS Long Term Plan will be published later this year.There are no current plans to include metrics measuring uptake of biologics in the NHS Long Term Plan update. However, pathways to biologic therapy are being streamlined, including through the Accelerated Access Collaborative’s work to improve the identification of patients in primary and secondary care settings for referrals to assess suitability to receive biologic treatment.

IVF

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential role IVF in preventing an ageing population.

James Morris: No specific assessment has been made.

General Practitioners: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Portsmouth City Council to directly employ GPs, in the context of trends in the level of demand for NHS GP services in the city.

James Morris: While partnerships holding a general practitioner (GP) contract continue to be in the majority, sustainable alternative models should be available where there are recruitment and retention challenges. Integrated care partnerships will ensure that National Health Service commissioners and local authorities work together to plan to meet the health needs of the local area, including in Portsmouth.General Medical Services contracts may be held by an individual medical practitioner, a partnership or a company limited by shares, while Personal Medical Services and Alternative Provider Medical Services GP contracts may be held by a range of individuals and organisations. In February 2021, NHS England updated its guidance on alternative organisational forms, including a toolkit, to allow GP practices and commissioners on the most appropriate model.

NHS Digital: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS digital has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows NHS Digital’s expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each of the last five years for which data is available.2020/212019/212018/192017/182016/17£926,723.95£1,394,062.44£1,798,759.87£332,659.28£1,584,760.26 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

NHS Counter Fraud Authority: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS Counter Fraud Authority has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Counter Fraud Authority has not incurred expenditure on external consultancy.

Endometriosis: Medical Treatments and Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many women who were on the waiting list for endometriosis treatment were also receiving support for mental health conditions as of 20 July 2022.

Maria Caulfield: We have no plans to make a specific estimate. Referral to Treatment data does not record the number of women waiting for treatment for endometriosis who also received support for mental health conditions.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Women’s Health Strategy for England published on 20 July 2022, whether the £10 million investment announced for mobile breast screening units is new and additional funding for the NHS breast screening programme.

James Morris: This is new and additional funding through the Spending Review 2021 settlement for 2022/23.

Hepatitis: Health Services

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the geographic distribution of secondary care hepatology services in England.

James Morris: In 2017, Public Health England published ‘The 2nd Atlas of variation in risk factors and healthcare for liver disease in England’, which collated the distribution of liver services by hospital trusts in England. The services were categorised through criteria such as adequate staffing levels and assessed against liver disease hospital admission and population mortality rates.The Atlas showed variation in levels of current provision of liver disease services as defined by whole time equivalent staffing levels, with 16 district general hospitals meeting the criteria for an adequately staffed acute service. The maps illustrated the need for greater provision of liver services in the deprived areas with the highest rates of liver disease morbidity and mortality.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to support people who are struggling to meet prescription costs and do not meet the criteria for exemption.

Maria Caulfield: We have frozen prescription charges for 2022/23 to assist with the cost of living. In addition to the single prescription charge, this also applies to Prescription Payment Certificates (PPCs). The cost of a twelve-month PPC remains at £108.10 which can be paid in instalments, to allow people receive their required medicines for just over £2 a week. People on a low income who do not qualify for an exemption may be eligible for help with prescription charges through the NHS Low Income Scheme. Approximately 89% of National Health Service prescriptions are dispensed free of charge.

Menopause

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of medical schools in England have mandatory menopause training on their curriculum.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally. In England, each medical school determines its own undergraduate curriculum, which must meet the standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC) in its Outcomes for Graduates. The GMC expects that, in fulfilling these standards, newly qualified doctors can identify, treat and manage the care needs of patients, including the menopause.Whilst undergraduate curricula do not highlight specific conditions, it emphasises the skills and approaches which a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for patients. On 20 July 2022, the Department published the Women’s Health Strategy for England, which states an ambition for undergraduate curricula for all healthcare professionals to include teaching and assessment on women’s health.

UK Health Security Agency: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the UK Health Security Agency has spent on external consultants in each year since its establishment; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maggie Throup: Fully audited data on the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) expenditure on external consultants since its formation on 1 October 2021 will be available later this year. The UKHSA is required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Medical Treatments

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to include measures to promote an increase in treatment reviews of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who are risk of exacerbation within CORE20+5.

James Morris: There are no plans to do so. However, Core20PLUS5 supports increasing the uptake of COVID-19, flu and pneumonia vaccines to reduce infective exacerbations and potential emergency hospital admissions.

Dementia and Eyesight: Health Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer to Question 901157 in Health and Social Care Questions on 19 July 2022, Official Report, column 830, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential merits of producing national health strategies for (a) eye health and (b) dementia in the context of the diversity of health needs across communities in England; and if he will a make a statement.

James Morris: We have no current plans for a national eye strategy as eye care services are commissioned locally to meet the needs of the local population. We are reviewing plans for dementia in England and further information will be available in due course.

Postnatal Depression: Medical Treatments

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has allocated to treat postnatal depression in women in the 2022-23 financial year.

Gillian Keegan: The information requested is not collected centrally. Local commissioners are responsible for allocating funding for mental health services to meet the needs of the local population, including for the treatment of post-natal depression. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, additional funding is being provided to increase access to specialist community perinatal mental health care for women with moderate to severe perinatal mental health difficulties, including post-natal depression.

Drugs: Misuse

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adopting a renewed public health approach to all forms of substance misuse.

Maggie Throup: The Government’s drugs strategy, ‘From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’ adopts a cross-Government approach to drugs policy. The strategy is supported and led by the Joint Combating Drugs Unit.

Dental Services: Internet

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2022 to Question 174 on Dental Services: Internet, what recent progress has made on been made on increasing the proportion of dentists updating the information on the NHS website; with reference to the letter from NHS England to all dental practices in England on the outcome of 2022/23 Dental Contract Negotiations, dated 19 July 2022, what steps his Department plans to take to monitor compliance with the requirement for dentists to update their details on a quarterly basis; when he plans for this requirement to be in place; and if he will make a statement.

James Morris: NHS Digital has launched email campaigns to encourage dental practices to update NHS.UK profiles and is improving the process for practices to provide this information online. Compliance will be monitored quarterly through National Health Service dental contracts and we aim for this to be implemented by the end of 2022.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to use vaccination centres for covid-19 booster injections and flu vaccinations.

Maggie Throup: As with previous campaigns, the autumn COVID-19 booster vaccinations will be delivered through Primary Care Networks, community pharmacies, vaccination centres and hospital hubs. Vaccination centres may also be used to co-administer flu vaccines, as agreed with the regional NHS England commissioner. However, the majority of flu vaccinations will be delivered through general practice and community pharmacies. Further information on the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programmes will be available in due course.

NHS Pay Review Body: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS Pay Review Body has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Pay Review Body and the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration has had no expenditure on external consultants in the last five years.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential waiting lists for NHS care in (a) 2024 and (b) 2026.

Maria Caulfield: No formal estimate has been made.

Integrated Care Systems: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS integrated care systems are sufficiently staffed.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England is responsible for the operational oversight of the transition from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to integrated care board (ICB) structures from 1 July 2022. While staffing levels are the responsibility of individual ICBs, former CCG staff below Board level were transferred directly into ICBs on 1 July, in line with NHS England’s employment commitment.At Board level, the Health and Care Act 2022 requires the constitution of an ICB to provide for a chair, a chief executive and at least three other members as the legislative minimum requirement. ICBs have the discretion to appoint any further members to the board. Local areas can, by agreement, appoint individuals with the necessary experience and expertise to fulfil its functions effectively.

IVF

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of provision of IVF services provided in England compared to the services available in France.

James Morris: We have no plans to make a specific assessment.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each of the last five years.2020/212019/202018/192017/182016/17£144,958£224,995£259,714£270,536£374,318 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Mental Health Services: Temperature

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what contingency plans his Department has in place for emergency mental health provisions during periods of extreme heat.

Gillian Keegan: The National Health Service has existing contingency plans for a range of scenarios, and patients seeking care or medical advice can continue to do so, including in periods of extreme heat. Guidance for health and social care professionals on supporting vulnerable people during heatwaves is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england/supporting-vulnerable-people-before-and-during-a-heatwave-for-health-and-social-care-professionals

NHS: Pay

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many external contractors working for the NHS receive a salary that is less than the national living wage as determined by the Living Wage Foundation as of 20 July 2022.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally. Private providers determine the rates of pay for staff according to employment contracts and local conditions. However, some contractors may choose to emulate arrangements used in the National Health Service, including annual pay awards.

Care Quality Commission: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Care Quality Commission has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the Care Quality Commission’s expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each of the last five years.2021/222020/212019/202018/192017/18£1,717,781.25£231,600£0£72,500£0 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finderEach award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Dental Health: Children

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national early years supervised toothbrushing scheme in England.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an estimate of the percentage of children aged three to five in England who currently take part in supervised toothbrushing in their early years and school settings.

James Morris: No specific assessment or estimate has been made.

Electronic Cigarettes: Young People

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the paper by Action and Smoking and Health entitled Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain 2022, published on 7 July 2022.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the underage use of e-cigarettes.

Maggie Throup: The Government supports the use of vapes or e-cigarettes solely as a tool for adult smokers trying to quit smoking. We strongly discourage the use among children and young people.Regulations in the United Kingdom aim to prevent the uptake of vaping by children and young people. These include restrictions on mainstream TV and radio advertising; requirements on the messaging on packaging and labelling; sales bans to under 18 year olds; and limits on tank sizes and nicotine content. We are currently exploring additional measures to protect children and young people from starting vaping and we will set out further action in due course.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Health Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of patients who have received all components of the discharge bundle included in the Best Practice Tariff for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the last 12 months.

James Morris: No specific estimate has been made. Compliance with the Best Practice Tariff criteria is measured by the National COPD Audit Programme’s secondary care audit.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Health Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to include incentives within the Quality and Outcomes Framework or Investment and Impact Fund to help ensure that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients receive a proactive review of their care after a prescription of oral corticosteroid for a COPD exacerbation.

James Morris: We have no specific plans to do so. However, the Quality and Outcomes Framework and the Investment and Impact Fund are reviewed to ensure alignment with the latest clinical guidance and best practice.

Breast Cancer: Health Services

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure NHS trusts meet the 93 percent target for two-week referrals for breast cancer.

James Morris: The Department has provided £2.3 billion for diagnostic services, including the launch of up to 160 community diagnostic centres to deliver additional diagnostic capacity in England, including for breast cancer. NHS England is also developing a best practice timed pathway for breast cancer, which states the sequence of events and maximum timeframes in which triage, diagnostic tests and assessments should be delivered, to support delivery of the two week wait and Faster Diagnosis Standards.

Local Government: Learning Disability

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting local authorities to have dedicated Learning Disability Champions.

Gillian Keegan: We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting local authorities to have dedicated learning disability champions. We made a commitment in Parliament during the passage of the Health and Care Act 2022, that all Integrated Care Boards should have a named lead for autism and learning disabilities. This will be set out in statutory guidance that NHS England will issue.

Dental Services: Cost of Living

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on the ability of people to access dental treatment.

James Morris: We continue to provide financial support by offering exemptions from National Health Service dental charges. Patients are entitled to free NHS dental care if they are under 18 years old or under 19 years old and in full-time education; pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months; being treated in an NHS hospital and their treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist; receiving low-income benefits; or they are under 20 years old and a dependant of someone receiving low-income benefits. Support is also available through the NHS Low Income Scheme for those patients ineligible for a full exemption.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to promote the vaccination of eligible children against Covid-19.

Maggie Throup: We continue to provide information for parents and carers of eligible children on the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccination. Invitations have been issued which include details on the ease and flexibility of booking appointments through the National Booking Service and the range of vaccination sites available which can be accessed without an appointment. COVID-19 vaccination has also been promoted through schools in England, which have received details of local vaccination sites through the National Health Service. These sites are ensuring that facilities can accommodate the needs of families and young children.

Huntington's Disease: Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase access to community mental health support for people with Huntington's disease.

Gillian Keegan: Access to mental health services is based on clinical need, including for patients with Huntington’s disease. We are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services in England by 2023/24. We have committed to increase access to National Health Service talking therapies, such as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, to ensure that 1.9 million adults can receive support for conditions such as anxiety and depression.

LGBTQ+ People: Alcoholism

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring LGBTQ+ diversity training for staff in alcohol services to help reduce the barriers LGBTQ+ people face when accessing treatment.

Maggie Throup: We have no plans to make a specific assessment. Through the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, we are investing £532 million over three years to support local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. The strategy has committed to developing a national drug and alcohol commissioning quality standard which will require local authorities to commission services for the diverse needs of local populations, including those with protected characteristics. This standard is due to be published shortly.Local authorities are responsible for allocating the investment in drug and alcohol services based on an assessment of the local population’s health needs and according to the new commissioning quality standards. Local authorities will receive increased support for workforce development to ensure greater capacity and competence.

Electronic Cigarettes: Young People

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the independent review entitled the Khan review: making smoking obsolete, published in June 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's recommendations on restricting the use of youth-appealing (a) packaging and (b) flavour naming for e-cigarettes.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the independent review by Dr Javed Khan OBE on preventing youth access to vaping products, whether his Department plans to provide funding for the implementation of the recommendation on promoting vaping as an effective tool to help people quit smoking tobacco.

Maggie Throup: We are considering the recommendations made by the Khan Review, including measures to protect children and young people from starting vaping and how vaping can be promoted as an effective tool to help people quit smoking tobacco. We are assessing a range of options, including the potential benefits of banning cartoon characters, images and flavour names which might be appealing to children.In response to the Review, we will publish a new Tobacco Control Plan in due course, including any potential funding proposals related to vaping.

Dementia: Health Services

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people affected by dementia are consulted during the development of the ten-year plan for dementia.

Gillian Keegan: We are reviewing plans for dementia in England and further information will be available in due course.

Health Research Authority: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Health Research Authority has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if they will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

James Morris: The following table shows the Health Research Authority’s expenditure on externally contracted consultancy services in each year since 2017/18. The information requested for 2021/22 is currently being collated and audited and will be available later this year. 2021/222020/212019/202018/192017/18£0.00£347,300£10,720£6,759£196,800 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, individual agencies and arm’s length bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK and to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the ten-year plan for dementia will include a strategy for increasing diagnosis rates.

Gillian Keegan: We are reviewing plans for dementia in England and further information will be available in due course.

General Practitioners: Waiting Lists

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average waiting times for GP appointments in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last three years.

James Morris: No specific estimate has been made as the information requested is not collected centrally.

Pharmacy: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing the City of Portsmouth to become a pilot area for pharmacists to be allowed to issue prescriptions to patients, in the context of trends in the level of demand for NHS GP services in the city.

James Morris: The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board is responsible for the commissioning of pharmaceutical services and may introduce a prescribing service in community pharmacy or as a pilot. NHS England is also considering plans for piloting National Health Service independent prescribing services nationally.

Health Services and Social Services: Staff

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support health and care staff in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England with the rising cost of living.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has accepted the recommendations made by the independent Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) for National Health Service staff. The PRBs considered factors such as the cost of living and inflation, recruitment, retention and morale and value for the taxpayer.More than one million staff under the national Agenda for Change contract in England will benefit from an increase in pay of at least £1,400, backdated to April 2022, including Coventry and the West Midlands. This is in addition to the 3% increase received in 2021.The Government has provided support for households including reducing fuel duty and taxes for the lowest-paid workers on Universal Credit and raising the threshold for National Insurance contributions.

MMR Vaccine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to deal with the rise in the number of people who are not vaccinated against MMR.

Maggie Throup: The Department and the National Health Service conducted a joint communication campaign in early 2022 and will launch a national catch-up campaign in autumn 2022. This targets parents and carers of children aged one to six years old who have missed one or both MMR vaccines. The Department continues to work with the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency to achieve 95% coverage for the MMR programme.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Government has spent on supporting the mental health of veterans in each year since 2010.

Gillian Keegan: The following table shows NHS England’s expenditure on bespoke veterans’ mental health services, including Op COURAGE, since 2013/14. Information on expenditure prior to 2013/14 is not held centrally. Veterans can also access mainstream National Health Service mental health services commissioned by integrated care boards.2013/14£4.7 million2014/15£4.7 million2015/16£5.8 million2016/17£5.8 million2017/18£6.1 million2018/19£6.9 million2019/20£11.1 million2020/21£18.2 million2021/22£18.7 million2022/23£22.3 million

NHS: Staff

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding of the Royal College of Physicians’ 2021 census on the proportion of advertised consultant posts in England and Wales that went unfilled in 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the size of the NHS workforce relative to patient demand.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Physician Census 2021, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the size of the NHS workforce relative to patient demand.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. However, the Department has commissioned Health Education England (HEE) to review long term strategic trends for the health and regulated social care workforce to ensure the appropriate skills and behaviours are available to deliver high standards of care.In addition, the Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long term plan for the workforce, including assessments of supply and demand. The outcomes of this plan will be available in due course. We are also considering workforce implications within forthcoming strategies, including cancer, maternity and mental health services.

Medicine: Training

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding of the Royal College of Physicians’ 2021 census on the proportion of advertised consultant posts in England and Wales that went unfilled in 2021, what steps he is taking to increase the number of medical school places.

Maria Caulfield: We have funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England – a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England. In addition, the Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students who completed A-Levels in 2020 and in 2021 in receipt of an offer from a university in England to study medicine, subject to grades.

Veterans: Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024, published 19 January 2022, how much of the additional £18m for veteran health services in England has been spent as of 20 July 2022.

Gillian Keegan: Through the Spending Review, £18 million was allocated to NHS England for veterans’ health services referred via the Veterans Strategy Action Plan. This funding will be implemented in 2023.

Hospitals: Energy

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to support hospitals with rising energy costs.

Maria Caulfield: We have had no specific discussions. However, the Department is working with NHS England to mitigate the impact of rising costs on hospitals.

Health Professions: Working Hours

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Physician Census 2021, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policies of the 56 percent of trainees reported to be interested in working less than full time.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. However, opportunities for flexibility, such as less than full time working patterns, is a considered in the development of workforce plans. The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long term workforce plan, which will include projection of supply and demand. The outcomes of this plan will be available in due course.In 2016, Health Education England introduced the Enhancing Junior Doctors’ Working Lives programme, which includes opportunities for part time working to support junior doctors in training.

General Practitioners

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) face-to-face and (b) telephone GP appointments held in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England in each of the last three years.

James Morris: The information requested is not held at constituency level or for Coventry and the West Midlands. The following table shows the number of appointments in general practice conducted face-to-face and through telephone consultation in England in each of the last three years. 201920202021Face-to-face general practice appointments242,086,946162,417,746178,859,427Telephone general practice appointments40,258,70997,278,674117,693,170 Note:This information excludes appointment for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Shortages

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) manufacturers and (b) suppliers of hormone replacement therapy products on resolving shortages.

Maria Caulfield: On 5 May 2022, a meeting was held with suppliers, wholesalers and representatives from community pharmacy to discuss the availability of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products and how supply could be improved. A further meeting took place on 4 July 2022 to discuss progress and any new supply issues arising. The Department continues to engage with HRT suppliers to expedite resupply dates of disrupted products, maintain supply and prevent future shortages.

Health: Equality

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of health inequalities in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Maggie Throup: No specific assessment has been made at constituency level as this information is not collected in the format requested. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ (OHID) Segment Tool provides information on the causes of deaths and age groups associated with inequalities in life expectancy at local area level. The tool is available at the following link:https://analytics.phe.gov.uk/apps/segment-tool/The data shows the contribution of causes of death to the gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived fifth of areas in Coventry in 2020/21. The gap in life expectancy in Coventry was 10.2 years for males and 7.5 years for females. The contribution of COVID-19 to these gaps was 1.11 years and 0.97 years for males and females respectively.OHID’s COVID-19 Health Inequalities Monitoring for England (CHIME) tool collects data relating to inequalities in the impacts of COVID-19, which is available at the following link:https://analytics.phe.gov.uk/apps/chime/In the West Midlands, the gap in male life expectancy between the most and least deprived tenth of areas was 11.2 years in 2021, an increase of 1.9 years than in 2019. For females, the gap was 9.2 years in 2021, an increase of 1.9 years than in 2019. Within the West Midlands, the contribution of COVID-19 deaths to the gap in life expectancy in 2021 was 1.97 years for males and 1.80 years for females. For both sexes, COVID-19 was the cause of death which made the biggest contribution to the life expectancy gap in 2021.In England, the gap in male life expectancy between the most and least deprived tenth of areas in England was 10.5 years in 2021, an increase of 1.2 years than in 2019. For females, the gap was 8.7 years in 2021, an increase of a year compared to 2019. The contribution of COVID-19 deaths to the gap in life expectancy in 2021 was 1.40 years for males and 1.19 years for females. For females, COVID-19 was the cause of death which made the biggest contribution to the life expectancy gap in England in 2021. For males, heart disease made the biggest contribution, followed by COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Bereavement Counselling

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing bereavement support for the families of people who died from covid-19.

Gillian Keegan: Since March 2020, the Government has allocated more than £10.2 million to mental health charities, including bereavement support charities, to support adults and children experiencing poor mental health due to the impact of COVID-19. The Government continues to assess the provision of services to support bereaved families, friends and loved ones.The impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the bereaved, including post-bereavement support will be assessed during the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 Inquiry.Through the Health and Care Act 2022, NHS England have developed guidance to support integrated care boards with the duty to commission palliative care services within integrated care systems. This guidance states commissioners should ensure there is sufficient access to bereavement services.

Health: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other steps his Department is taking to help tackle health inequalities in (i) Coventry North East constituency and (ii) Coventry.

Maggie Throup: Through NHS England, allocations to National Health Service integrated care boards (ICBs), including Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, are adjusted for health inequalities and unmet need in the weighted capitation formula, which was recently reviewed by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. ICB allocations were published in April 2022 and are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2022-23/In 2022/23, Coventry City Council will receive over £23.2 million from the Public Health Grant. In using the Grant, local authorities must have regard to the need to reduce health inequalities.While there are no specific projects in Coventry North East constituency and Coventry, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ West Midlands regional office has provided support to Coventry City Council on programmes which contribute to the reduction of health inequalities. This includes providing evidence and intelligence and sharing best practice to inform initiatives to tackle infant mortality, homelessness, migrant health issues and access to housing, as well as initiatives to improve access to services for vulnerable and hard to reach groups.

National Institute for Health and Care Research: Recruitment

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were recruited into National Institute for Health and Care Research supported phase 1 and 2 trials for (a) dementia, (b) cancer, (c) stroke and (d) coronary heart disease in each of the last 10 years.

James Morris: A table showing the number of participants recruited into phase 1 and 2 trials supported by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research’s Clinical Research Network for dementia, cancer, stroke and coronary heart disease, including atherothrombosis and prevention of coronary artery disease, in each of the last 10 years is attached.Attachment (docx, 21.9KB)

Surgical Mesh Implants: Bristol

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 17 January 2022 to Question 89649 on Surgical Mesh Implants: Bristol, if he will make an assessment of the performance of the Bristol Mesh Complications Specialist Service with their service specification; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Scottish Government's contract with Spire Healthcare in Bristol on (a) availability of surgeons and (b) the number of surgical procedures available at the Bristol Mesh Complications Specialist Service.

James Morris: NHS England assessed the Bristol Mesh Complications Specialist Service to ensure it would be compliant with the specification prior to commencement of service in April 2022. An assessment of compliance will be made through the quality surveillance programme and associated peer review in due course.We have no plans to make a specific assessment of the Scottish Government’s contract with Spire Healthcare. North Bristol NHS Trust does not make use of facilities at Spire Healthcare to deliver its vaginal mesh removal service.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme launched in 2016 in achieving its aims; what further steps he plans to take to ensure that rural areas have an adequate number of General Practitioners in the future; and if he will make a statement.

James Morris: Through the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme (TERS), there were 550 training places in 2021 for doctors in areas which have experienced challenges in recruiting staff. In 2022, additional investment has ensured that there are 800 training places. General practitioner (GP) trainees provide direct patient care and those on the TERS scheme can provide additional resource in these locations.We are diversifying the general practice workforce to ensure that GPs are supported to deliver appropriate patient care. We are recruiting an additional 26,000 primary care staff to ensure that a range of skills are available in general practice, with over 18,000 staff currently in post.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Shortages

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of shortages of HRT products on the wellbeing of affected women.

Maria Caulfield: No formal assessment has been made. There are more than 70 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products available in the United Kingdom and while most remain in good supply, a range of factors such an increase in demand has led to supply issues with a limited number of products. However, alternatives to those products experiencing supply issues continue to be available.

Dermatology: Health Services

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to help ensure that there is sufficient provision of dermatology services to meet demand in England.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the (a) diagnosis and (b) management of inflammatory skin conditions.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to tackle the backlog for dermatology specialist referrals as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to encourage Integrated Care Systems to improve care pathways for patients with inflammatory skin conditions.

Gillian Keegan: The majority of services for people with dermatological conditions, including inflammatory skin conditions, are commissioned locally, with community pharmacists offering advice and treatment for many skin conditions. No specific assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis or management of inflammatory skin conditions has been made.However, to ensure sufficient provision of dermatology services and specialist referrals, we are expanding the number of training posts in dermatology for doctors in postgraduate training by 15 from August 2022.The National Health Service has launched a rapid access teledermatology advice and guidance service for general practitioners and is implementing technology such as digital imaging. A teledermatology roadmap is also available to integrated care systems to provide recommendations on optimising teledermatology triage and specialist advice.

Primary Health Care: Feltham and Heston

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve primary care facilities in Feltham and Heston constituency.

James Morris: Primary care services in Feltham and Heston are provided from a range of facilities which include purpose-built health centres and a range of privately owned buildings. NHS England advise that Hounslow Borough Based Partnership is being supported by the North West London Integrated Care Board to develop an estates strategy, including primary care facilities. Improvements to Heston Health Centre will be considered in the estates strategy and a review of the Meadows Health Centre is being undertaken as services resume, following its use as a ‘hot-hub’ during the pandemic. A feasibility study for Feltham Health Centre is due to be completed by NHS Property Services on maximising its facilities.

Community Care: Waiting Lists

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) financial and (b) other steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for people transferring into care settings in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England.

Gillian Keegan: The Department has published hospital discharge guidance for local areas which sets out how discharge services should be planned and implemented. Local areas can select the appropriate funding mechanisms, such as the Better Care Fund, to support timely hospital discharge. In 2021/22, Coventry County Council spent £15.3 million on discharge-related programmes to improve transfers of care and patient flow, through the Better Care Fund. This expenditure includes £1.3 million on intermediate care and £13 million to support implementation of the Discharge to Assess/Home First model.A National Hospital Discharge Taskforce has been established to address delayed discharges, which has launched a national 100-day discharge challenge in all hospital trusts. In the West Midlands, health and care partners are implementing 10 interventions to deliver this challenge, building on existing initiatives such as criteria-led discharge, ward processes and improving system-level demand and capacity. NHS England is providing support to integrated care systems in the region, including Coventry and Warwickshire, Black Country and West Birmingham, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and Birmingham and Solihull. This will include regional masterclasses to increase engagement on a range of discharge-related matters.

Members: Correspondence

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer the correspondence from the hon. Member for Sefton Central dated 16 May on a health facility in Maghull, Sefton.

Maria Caulfield: We apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member. A reply will be sent as soon as possible.

General Practitioners: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to GP services in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.

James Morris: Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board has undertaken a communications campaign for patients to advertise how to access general practitioner (GP) services in the area and the range of services available from healthcare professionals in local practices. This has included radio advertisements, printed materials available in GP practices and a leaflet sent to homes in Coventry and Warwickshire. There are a variety of appointments available, including face-to-face, telephone and e-consultations to offer patients flexibility and convenience.

Urinary Tract Infections: Older People

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of people aged over 75 who have contracted urinary tract infections within 10 days of receiving a covid-19 booster.

Maggie Throup: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) publishes weekly data on adverse event reports for COVID-19 vaccines through its Yellow Card Scheme. As of 20 July 2022, the MHRA had received seven reports of urinary tract infection (UTI) in people over 75 years old occurring within 10 days of a booster dose in relation to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine; one report for the Moderna vaccine and no such reports for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The MHRA’s surveillance activities have not indicated an association between COVID-19 vaccination and UTI. As the Yellow Card scheme is a voluntary reporting system, it is not possible to derive population-level estimates.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Waiting Lists

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time for emergency care in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

Maria Caulfield: No specific estimate of waiting times in Coventry and the West Midlands has been made as the data is not collected in the format requested. NHS Digital collects data on median waiting times by National Health Service trust, which is aggregated at national level. In May 2022, the median average waiting time in accident and emergency at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust was 128 minutes and 186 minutes in England.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty: Children

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to take steps in response to the End Child Poverty coalition statistics on local child poverty rates.

David Rutley: This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.27 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. In October to December 2021 there were nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK compared to 2010. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all Jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results, over 539,000 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign.We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year, on average, through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.Around 1.9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges and that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Liverpool City Council has been allocated £6,054,020.20.

Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit: Care Leavers

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to pay care leavers the higher rate of (a) Jobseekers Allowance and (b) Universal Credit from their 18th birthday.

David Rutley: Universal Credit provides those who are under 25 with lower rates than those age 25 and over. This reflects the fact that these claimants are more likely to live in someone else’s household and have lower living costs. However, it is acknowledged that some claimants under 25 do live independently, which is why Universal Credit includes separate elements to provide support to claimants for these additional costs. These additional amounts are provided in a similar way to all claimants. There are no plans to change this policy.

Cost of Living Payments: Statutory Sick Pay and Universal Credit

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to give the cost of living payment to people who are (a) on statutory sick pay and (b) claiming Universal Credit.

David Rutley: If a claimant was entitled to Universal Credit payment in the first instalment of the Assessment Period ending April 25th-May 25th, 2022, they should have been paid the £326 Cost of Living Payment. This includes those that are on Universal Credit and are also receiving Statutory Sick Pay. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is both administered and paid entirely by employers and provides a measure of earnings replacement to employees who are sick or incapable of work. It is just one part of the support which people might receive when they are unable to work. Individuals may be able to get Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay at the same time, depending on their individual circumstances.

Seasonal Workers: Cost of Living

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who (a) have not qualified for the Cost of Living Payment as a result of seasonal work and (b) are receiving a nil payment for the period ending 25 May 2022, are being supported in the context of the increased costs of living.

David Rutley: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why it is providing over £37 billion of support this year. Those who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the first Cost of Living Payment instalment may qualify for the second instalment of £324 later in the year. The Cost of Living Payments are only one part of the support available. All households with a domestic electricity bill across the UK will benefit from the £400 being provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, for example. We are also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022. Devolved administrations have received £79 million through the Barnett formula.  We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes to help them to increase their earnings and move into better paid quality jobs. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour, providing an extra £1,000 a year for a full-time worker and we raised the National Insurance threshold to £12,570 from 6 July 2022, which is a saving of over £330 a year for a typical employee.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long on average people who are claiming Universal Credit are having to wait to be reimbursed for childcare costs as of 21 July 2022.

David Rutley: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Where childcare is delivered during an assessment period, the cost paid for that childcare will be reimbursed at the end of the assessment period in which it is delivered. In order to be reimbursed, childcare costs can be reported to DWP up to the end of the assessment period following the assessment period in which they were paid. The exact waiting time for reimbursement, therefore, depends on how far in advance a claimant pays their childcare provider and how soon the claimant reports those costs to DWP.UC claimants who need help with upfront childcare costs to enter employment or significantly increase their working hours can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). This is non-repayable and will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received.

Cost of Living Payments: Employment and Support Allowance

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who are on Contributions Based ESA and are not eligible for the Cost of Living Payment are being supported in the context of increased costs of living.

David Rutley: Non-means tested benefits are not eligible benefits for the Cost of Living Payment in their own right because people receiving these benefits may have other financial resources available to them. Many will also have been in receipt of an eligible means tested benefit on the qualifying date for the £326 Cost of Living Payment.Individuals who do not qualify for a Cost-of-living Payment, may benefit from of the wider support package, including the £400 rebate for domestic electricity customers provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the £150 rebate for Council Tax Band A to D households in England. The Government is providing a further £500m towards the cost of essentials bringing total funding via the fund to £1.5bn. In England, £421m will be used to further extend the Household Support Fund (October 2022 – March 2023). Guidance and individual local authority indicative allocations for the further extension will be announced in due course. In addition, Personal Independence Payment is available to help with the extra costs faced by people with a long-term health condition or disability. Disability benefits can provide a gateway or passport to a wide range of additional support or help.

Social Security Benefits: Surveys

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department has not yet published its 2020-21 Claimant Service Experience Survey.

David Rutley: The Customer Experience Survey report for 2020/21 is intended for publication at a later date.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate the Government has made of the number of women in England who are unable to take on more paid work as a result of the cost of childcare.

David Rutley: No assessment has been made. The Department is aware that for some UC claimants' childcare costs presents challenges to entering employment. To support parents to become financially resilient by moving into work and progressing in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work, compared to 70% in Tax Credits. This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth over £13,000 a year. This support is available to all lone parents and couples, regardless of the number of hours they work. For couples, both parents need to be in paid work to be eligible unless one of the allowable exceptions is met. The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The Free Childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3- and 4-year old's and disadvantaged 2-year old's, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year old's to 30 hours a week.The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant's eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required. This offer means that for some claimants' childcare costs should not present any barriers to entering work.UC claimants who need help with upfront childcare costs to enter employment or significantly increase their working hours can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). This is non-repayable and will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received. Through a staged rollout from April 2022 onwards, 2.1m low paid Universal Credit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher paid work. This will be provided by work coaches and focus on career progression advice, such as considering skills gaps, identifying training opportunities, or looking for opportunities for the claimant to progress in their current role or in a new role. Jobcentres will be supported in this new role by a network of 37 Progression Champions across Great Britain who will spearhead the scheme. They will work with partners to address local barriers that limit progression, such as transport and childcare.

Universal Credit: Work Capability Assessment

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her letter to the Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, dated 15 July 2022, what resources are needed to enable the publication of data on the work capability assessment outcomes for Universal Credit claimants.

Chloe Smith: An appraisal of the resources needed to enable the publication of data on the Work Capability Assessment outcomes for Universal Credit claimants has not been made. I anticipate there will be fewer resources available and I am not committing to developing new statistics at this time. We will consider our development priorities within the Statistical Work Programme.

Social Security Benefits

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were receiving the (a) Support Element of Employment Support Allowance or (b) Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit, but are not receiving Personal Independent Payment or Disability Living Allowance, in the latest 12 months for which that data is available.

Chloe Smith: On 30th November 2021, 292,000 people in Great Britain were receiving the Support Group award of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) without receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA). 307,000 people were receiving the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity Element (LCWRA) of Universal Credit (UC) without receiving PIP or DLA. The below table shows the figures for the end of the four most recent quarters.   Quarter  Feb-21May-21Aug-21Nov-21People receiving ESA/UC without PIP/DLAESA Support Group325,000313,000302,000292,000UC LCWRA232,000261,000285,000307,000 Notes:Sources: Benefit Combinations, Universal Credit Full Service, Work and Pensions Longitudinal StudyThis is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and may be subject to future revision.Data covers Great Britain only.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for how many appeals against decisions for (a) Employment Support Allowance, (b) Universal Credit and (c) Personal Independence Payment did her Department lapse or concede on the day of the Tribunal.

Chloe Smith: The department does not lapse appeals on the day of a tribunal hearing. Where new evidence has become available after an appeal has been lodged but before it has been heard at a tribunal such that DWP can change the decision and lapse the appeal, this will always take place in advance of a hearing. Where new evidence becomes available on the day of the hearing and a Presenting Officer from the Department is in attendance, they are able to make concessions in light of the new evidence. The tribunal will then take the concessions into account during their decision-making process. The department does not hold information on the number of cases in which concessions were made.

Working Conditions: Weather

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of the July 2022 heatwave on the safety of workers in the UK.

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to protect the safety of workers during extreme weather events.

Chloe Smith: There is already a legal obligation under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 which requires all employers to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees; and take action where necessary to minimise those risks as far as reasonably practicable. This would include the risks from extreme weather events such as heatwaves. In addition, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 place a legal obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in indoor workplaces. Employers should consult with employees or their representatives to establish sensible means to cope with high temperatures. During the heatwave, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a proactive press release highlighting these duties and the detailed guidance available on the HSE website to manage workplace temperature and thermal comfort. This guidance includes information on how to undertake an assessment and specific measures that can be taken to improve thermal comfort. There is no maximum temperature because workplaces with hot processes such as bakeries or foundries would not be able to comply with such a regulation. They use other measures to control the effects of temperature. In the first instance, employees should use the procedures put in place by their employers to raise any issues. If they remain unresolved then employees can raise them with the appropriate enforcing authority – either HSE or the Local Authority depending on the type of workplace.

Personal Independence Payment: Applications

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving the enhanced rate of either component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) did not return the PIP review application form in each year since its introduction.

Chloe Smith: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Tribunals

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2022 to Question 17850 on Personal Independence Payment: Tribunals, what proportion of decisions overturned at Tribunal were based on (a) the tribunal panel drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, (b) cogent oral evidence given by the individual and (c) new written evidence provided at the hearing, for each year for which data is available.

Chloe Smith: Analysis of unpublished Personal Independence Payment (PIP) data held by DWP provides data on why decisions by DWP decision makers have been overturned at a tribunal hearing between July 2013 and March 2022 and is shown annually in the table below. This information is taken from Decision Notices and recorded on the PIP computer system. This data only provides one reason per appeal why decisions by DWP decision makers have been overturned at a tribunal hearing, and therefore may not give the full story as there may be other reasons. Appeals data is taken from the DWP PIP computer system’s management information. Therefore, this appeal data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics. These figures are the result of a complex data match across a number of data sets. This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution, and it may be subject to future revision. Summary reason DWP decision overturned at Tribunal hearingAppeal Clearance Year2013 (from July)201420152016201720182019202020212022 (up to March)New written evidence provided at hearing14%6%9%15%9%8%4%4%1%2%Cogent Oral Evidence57%74%67%54%50%43%43%26%32%32%Reached a Different Conclusion on Substantially the Same Facts29%15%13%18%26%36%41%58%59%59%Other0%5%10%12%15%13%12%11%7%7%   Learning from this information, we have made improvements to our decision-making processes to help ensure we make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. We have introduced a new approach to decision making at both the initial decision and the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, giving Decision Makers additional time to proactively contact customers where they think additional evidence may support the claim.

Social Security Benefits

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of the people who stopped claiming unemployment related benefits (a) moved to other benefits, (b) moved to other conditionality groups and (c) stopped receiving benefits altogether in the period between September 2021 and February 2022; and if she will make an estimate of the number of people who (i) stopped claiming unemployment related benefits in that period and (ii) moved from benefits into work during her Department's Way to Work campaign.

Julie Marson: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.The Alternative Claimant Count (ACC) provides a measure of the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits, and off-flows from the ACC are available here.Between September 2021 and February 2022 there were just under 2 million off-flows from the ACC. This represents a count of off-flows, not individual people, as it is possible to flow on / off benefit multiple times within this period.As of 25 July, 539,200 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and 30 June 2022. This includes claimants who remained on benefits after starting work.

Universal Credit

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who left the Universal Credit searching for work conditionality group in the period from January to June 2022; and whether their reason for leaving was to (a) join another conditionality group or (b) leave benefits altogether.

Julie Marson: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Alternative Claimant Count (ACC) provides a measure of the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits. The number of off-flows from the ACC, and for the Universal Credit Searching for Work conditionality group component of the ACC, are available here.Between January 2022 and May 2022 there were 1.36 million off-flows from this group. This represents a count of off-flows, not individual people, as it is possible to flow in and out of this group multiple times within this period.

Way to Work Scheme

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have got jobs as a result of the Way to Work campaign as of 25 July 2022.

Julie Marson: As of 25 July, 539,200 unemployed Universal Credit (UC) claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and 30 June 2022.This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of June for Universal Credit claimants (498,500) and the equivalent information for JSA claimants (40,800). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness.

Social Security Benefits: Care Leavers

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of alternatives to automatic benefit sanctions for care leavers.

Julie Marson: We have no plans to assess the potential merits of alternatives to automatic benefit sanctions for care leavers.Conditionality and sanctions apply to care leavers in the same way as other claimants who are also expected to move towards and enter employment. There are additional checks in place for care leavers to determine if a referral for a sanction decision is appropriate. Work Coaches can also contact the care leaver single point of contact (SPOC) for any additional information when considering a sanction referral for a care leaver.It is only when a care leaver has been found not to have met an agreed and reasonable requirement, without good reason, that we would consider applying a sanction. A decision maker will fully take into account the claimants’ circumstances, when determining if a sanction is warranted.If a care leaver disagrees with a decision, they can ask for the decision to be reconsidered and subsequently can appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal.

Way to Work Scheme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants found work through the Way to Work campaign between (a) July and December 2021 and (b) January and June 2021.

Julie Marson: The Way to Work campaign was launched on 26 January 2022 so there was no Way to Work campaign relating to the periods in question.

Way to Work Scheme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which benefit (a) categories and (b) conditionality groups were included in her Department's Way to Work campaign.

Julie Marson: Way to Work was aimed at all job-ready claimants on Universal Credit and New Style Jobseekers Allowance in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit: Employment

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of unemployed (a) Universal Credit and (b) Job Seekers Allowance claimants who would have moved into work between 31 January and 26 June 2022 without the Way to Work campaign.

Julie Marson: No estimate has been made of the number of unemployed Universal Credit and Job Seeker Allowance claimants would have moved into work between January and June 2022 in the absence of the Way to Work campaign.

Universal Credit

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure those migrated from legacy benefits to Universal Credit do not incur a loss of income as a result.

David Rutley: The vast and on majority an average 55% of claimants will be £220 better off on Universal Credit. Where a claim for Universal Credit stops entitlement to a DWP income-related legacy benefit, a claimant will automatically receive a two-week run on of those benefits. Those entitled to Housing Benefit will also receive a two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment. In addition, those claimants the Department moves from legacy benefits to Universal Credit through the managed migration process will be assessed for transitional protection at the point they move to Universal Credit. Transitional protection will be paid to eligible claimants who would see a lower entitlement on Universal Credit. The aim of this temporary payment is to maintain the same level of entitlement at the point of transition so that claimants will have time to adjust to the new benefit system.

Universal Credit: Work Capability Assessment

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Work Capability Assessments were carried out for people applying for Universal Credit in each of the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Chloe Smith: The volume of Work Capability Assessments (WCA) carried out in relation to Universal Credit (UC) claims between March 2021 and February 2022 is as follows:   Mar 21Apr 21May 21Jun 21Jul 21Aug 21UC WCA44,00040,00037,00040,00040,00039,000 Sep 21Oct 21Nov 21Dec 21Jan 22Feb 22UC WCA39,00036,00041,00037,00046,00044,000  Please note All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 1,000The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards

Work and Health Programme: Unpaid Work

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of offering Supported Internships as part of the Work and Health Programme.

Chloe Smith: Supported internships are a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 in England who have an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, want to move into employment and need extra support to do so. In February 2022, the Department for Education announced investment of up to £18 million over the next three years to build capacity in the Supported Internships programme, aiming to double the number of Supported Internships to give more young people with an EHC plan the skills to secure and sustain paid employment.The Work and Health Programme is nationally contracted employment support delivered in England and Wales which predominantly helps people with a wide range of health conditions or disabilities, to enter, and stay in work using the expertise of private, public and voluntary, and community sector providers. Disabled people who have completed a supported internship and continue to need additional employment support to find work would be able to access the Work and Health Programme or other DWP funded employment provision.

Employment: Disability

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to close the learning disability employment gap.

Chloe Smith: In 2017 the Government set a goal to see one million more disabled people in employment between 2017 and 2027. The latest figures released for Q1 2022 show that between Q1 2017 and Q1 2022 the number of disabled people in employment increased by 1.3m – meaning the goal has been met after only five years. The disability employment gap was 28.2 percentage points in Q1 2022. This is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points on the year, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points since Q1 2020 and an overall decrease of 5.6 percentage points since the same quarter in 2014. Learning Disabled people often face very significant challenges in being able to work, but their employment rate has also shown an improvement. The Annual Population Survey reports that in 2020/21 25.6% of people with severe or specific learning difficulties as their main health condition were in work. This compares to 2013/14 where 17.0% were in work. The increase from 2013/14 to 2020/21 is statistically significant. Learning disabled people often need extra support to be able to secure, sustain and succeed in employment. We have taken a range of steps to ensure that support is available when needed. We have strengthened our Disability Employment Adviser role, delivering direct support to claimants who require additional work related support and supporting all work coaches to deliver tailored, personalised support to claimants with a disability or health condition including those with a learning disability. DWP has also been working with the National Autistic Society to design and develop a service delivery framework for people with Autism. The service delivery framework aims to transform the service available to jobseekers on the autism spectrum, and will also have benefits for learning disabled customers. This trial is now complete with all 15 sites having passed their accreditation test. We are considering how best to take this forward across the entire Jobcentre network. Learning disabled people can access further employment support through Jobcentres including priority access to the Work and Health Programme in England and Wales, for people with health conditions, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support provision across the UK, which provides highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions who require specialist support to achieve sustained employment. Access to Work is also available, which is a demand-led discretionary grant scheme that provides funding for the extra disability-related costs people have when starting work or maintaining employment. Over the last 5 years the number of learning disabled people receiving AtW support each year has risen from 210 to 380. This autumn DWP will invest over £7 million in Local Supported Employment services, working with around 20 Local Authorities to enable more learning disabled and autistic social care users to access the support needed to help them get into and remain in employment. Learning disabled young people on their transition to employment can benefit from Supported Internships, which are aimed at young people with a learning disability or autism who have an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan. Supported Internships usually last for 12 months and provide support from a specialist job coach. Whilst the Department for Education lead on this in England, the Department for Work and Pensions provides support through Access to Work where needed.

Unemployment: Coventry North East

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made a recent estimate of the (a) unemployment and (b) youth unemployment rates in Coventry North East constituency; if she will make an assessment of the factors that contribute to those rates being higher than the UK average; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce unemployment in Coventry North East constituency.

Julie Marson: Information relating to ILO Unemployment Levels and Rates for Coventry North East are available from ONS via the National Online Manpower Information System (NOMIS) see link www.nomisweb.co.uk . Claimant Count Unemployment Levels and Rates are also available via the link. The Government is committed to maximising employment and levelling up to spread opportunity more equally across the UK. In January the Government announced the Way to Work scheme, which has successfully supported 500,000 jobseekers through the jobcentre and into employment by the end of June. This follows the Plan for Jobs, which successfully supported people negatively affected by the labour market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – by introducing schemes like Kickstart, Restart, Job Entry Targeted Support and Job Finding Support.

Members: Correspondence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 13 April 2022, sent again by email on 16 May, 23 May, 14 June and 13 July 2022, from the hon. Member for Glasgow East, reference DL11688.

Guy Opperman: DWP provided a full written response to the office of David Linden MP on 20 July 2022 in relation to his constituent’s enquiry.

National Insurance Contributions: State Retirement Pensions

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase in the National Insurance contribution threshold on eligibility for the State Pension; and what steps his Department is taking to mitigate any consequent loss of entitlement.

Guy Opperman: Although the Primary Threshold [PT] at which an employee starts paying National Insurance has increased to £242 per week, the Lower Earnings Limit [LEL] has remained at £123 per week for 2022/23. People will build a qualifying year for their State Pension if their earnings from a single job are at or above £6396 per year [52 times the LEL]. This in effect provides for a zero-rate band between the LEL and the PT where individuals are treated as having paid NI contributions for benefit entitlement purposes.

Home Office

India: Visas

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) offer E-visa facilities to Indian nationals and (b) agree reciprocal arrangements with New Delhi for British nationals.

Kevin Foster: We are developing a border and immigration system which is “digital-by-default”, which over time means we will increasingly replace physical and paper-based products and services with accessible, easy to use online and digital services.We have been rolling out eVisas since 2018, first with the EU Settlement Scheme and increasingly on other immigration routes, so the number of eVisa holders is continuing to rise. We are making eVisas available primarily by route rather than on the basis of nationality, but increasing numbers of applicants, including Indian nationals, will benefit from the issue of eVisas rather than physical products.As set out in the New Plan for Immigration: legal migration and border control strategy, published on 20 July, our ambition is to phase out use of physical documents as evidence of status by the end of 2024.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-plan-for-immigration-legal-migration-and-border-control-strategyWe are aware of British nationals' concerns regarding their exclusion from the Government of India’s (GoI) list of countries eligible for e-visas. We regularly raise our concerns with the GoI. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary raised this matter with her Indian counterpart during her last visit to India.British nationals can continue to use the GoI’s regular/paper visa application services for all visa categories. We will continue to work closely with the GoI on the e-visa issue and update the India Travel Advice with the latest information on any changes to India's visa rules.

Asylum: Rwanda

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been allocated to providing mental health services in the asylum processing system per person in Rwanda.

Kevin Foster: As made clear in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) governing the Migration and Economic Development Partnership at paragraphs 8.1 and 10.3.2 individuals transferred will be given the support necessary by the Government of Rwanda to ensure their health and wellbeing. The MoU can be found at the following link: Memorandum of Understanding between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of the Republic of Rwanda for the provision of an asylum partnership arrangement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Refugees: Afghanistan

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals has the United Nations Human Rights Council made to the Government concerning the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme since 15 June 2022; and how many Afghans have arrived in the UK since 15 June 2022.

Kevin Foster: Pathway two of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) provides for vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan to be referred for resettlement to the UK by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The launch of pathway two was announced on 13 June and we have already started to receive the first referrals.Under pathway two, we anticipate receiving referrals from the UNHCR of up to 2,000 refugees during the first year, although this number will be kept under review. We will continue to receive UNHCR referrals to the scheme in coming years.Resettlement figures for the ACRS will be published in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Detainees: Mental Illness

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with a diagnosed mental health illness were held in (a) an immigration removal centre and (b) a short term holding facility in each year since 2010.

Simon Baynes: The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. Healthcare services in all immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England are commissioned by NHS England. At Dungavel IRC in Scotland, and Larne House Short Term Holding Facility in Northern Ireland, healthcare is commissioned by the service providers. We take the health and welfare of those detained in our care very seriously, and all individuals who are detained have access to medical care. All detained individuals entering an IRC receive a healthcare screening within two hours of their arrival, which identifies any immediate or long-term healthcare risks. Unless they decline, individuals in IRCs are given an appointment with a doctor within 24 hours. Clinical pathways into other healthcare services are initiated at this point depending on the outcomes of the reception screen, including into mental health services. Furthermore, all centres have mental health in-reach services available. In accordance with the adults at risk in immigration detention policy, individuals considered to be vulnerable, including those suffering from mental health conditions, will be detained only when the vulnerability considerations in their particular case are outweighed by the immigration considerations. All Home Office staff working in the detention system and IRC staff employed by our commercial suppliers are given training and support to identify and act upon indicators of vulnerability, including mental health issues.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) people applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and (b) applications for settled status under that Scheme were processed in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme took longer for a decision to be reached than the usual service delivery timescales in (a) June 2019 and (b) June 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office publishes data on the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in the ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’.The latest published information on EUSS applications and applications concluded by month to 31 March 2022 can be found in table ‘EUSS_MON: EU Settlement Scheme: Monthly applications received and concluded, by outcome, UK country and nationality, 28 August 2018 to 31 March 2022’ available at: EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Data for April, May and June 2022 will be published on 25 August 2022 in EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, June 2022 while data for July 2022 will be published in EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, September 2022 on 24 November 2022.Our aim is to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as quickly as possible. Each individual case is considered on its own facts, which means some cases will inevitably take longer than others to conclude, for example if the applicant is facing an impending prosecution or has a criminal record.The following link lists the expected processing times for EU Settlement Scheme applications, based upon current performance: EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Our aim is to conclude applications for an EEA family permit or an EUSS family permit as soon as possible, after identity and supporting documents are submitted. More information can be found here;Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Crimes of Violence: Greater London

Gareth Bacon: What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of violent crime in London.

Miss Sarah Dines: As of June 2022, the latest data for hospital admissions for under 25s for assault with a sharp object – our primary metric for measuring serious violence – is down -17% in London compared to June 2021.This financial year we have provided £12.7m of funding to the London Violence Reduction Unit – which brings together key partners to tackle violence - and £8m of ‘Grip’ funding to support the Metropolitan Police Service’s response to violence.

Asylum: Rwanda

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the potential impact of her policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda on the UK's international (a) human rights obligations and (b) reputation.

Simon Baynes: This Government is committed to our migration Partnership with Rwanda, which will break the business model of criminal gangs, save lives and help to tackle the global migration crisis.As with any policy, there have been discussions throughout its development. We are confident that the policy is fully compliant with our domestic and international legal and human rights obligations.

Passports: Newport West

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on reducing the backlog of passport applications from residents of Newport West constituency.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office carries work in progress across the year as part of normal operational planning.Across 2022, approximately 800,000 passport applications have been processed on average each month, with 96.4% of standard UK applications being processed within the published ten-week timeframe.

Dangerous Driving

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police forces have the resources they require to tackle dangerous and anti-social driving.

Tom Pursglove: The Government is determined to give the police the resources they need to deal with dangerous and anti-social driving.The Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £16.9 billion in 2022/23, an increase of up to £1.1 billion compared to 2021/22.Operational decisions regarding the deployment of resources are for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of Afghan citizens referred to her Department as eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy who remain in Afghanistan awaiting permission to enter the UK.

Kevin Foster: An estimated 6,500 people, who are eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, remain in Afghanistan.Securing safe passage out of Afghanistan continues to present a barrier to the international community’s efforts to relocate eligible people and their families. There are no direct flights and some will need to consider very carefully what is the best option to travel safely through the country in order to reach a third country.

Refugees: Afghanistan and Ukraine

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that refugees fleeing Ukraine and Afghanistan have access to appropriate (a) housing, (b) education and (c) employment opportunities.

Kevin Foster: Through our resettlement and relocation schemes we have already welcomed tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans and Ukrainians.Our cross-government approach is supporting families to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate with local communities.We continue to explore options to unlock local authority capacity and identify appropriate housing for those resettling in the UK.

Crime: Rural Areas

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle rural crime.

Tom Pursglove: We are committed to driving down rural crime, which is why the Government is providing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit.We have also added new measures to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which introduce tougher sentencing and improved police powers for hare coursing, including two new criminal offences and the possibility of imprisonment.

Home Office: Travel

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on ministerial travel (a) in 2019, (b) in 2020, (c) in 2021 and (d) to date in 2022.

Tom Pursglove: We can report on how much the Home Office has spent on official business travel in total but identifying all Ministerial travel expenditure specifically can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes details of Ministerial overseas travel on a quarterly basis, in line with transparency requirements, and this is available until March 2022.Home Office: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Office: Stationery

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on stationery (a) in 2019, (b) in 2020, (c) in 2021 and (d) to date in 2022.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not publish the information sought to the level of granularity required. Identifying stationery spending specifically can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, the Home Office does publish some cost information in relation to stationery and this is grouped together with publications and printing expenditure.The Home Office records and publishes information on a financial year basis, April to March.Refer to the links and pages below for the available published information that relates to spending on publications, stationery, and printing:Page 171 of the 2021-22 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome_Office_ARA_21-22_Final_-_Gov.uk.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)Page 159 of the 2020-21 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHO annual report and accounts 2020-21 (publishing.service.gov.uk)Page 150 of the 2019-20 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome Office annual report and accounts 2019 - 2020 (publishing.service.gov.uk)Page 135 of the 2018-19 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome Office Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Tom Pursglove: Whilst the Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.

Slavery: Victim Support Schemes

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on introducing 12 months of individualised support for victims of modern slavery following a positive conclusive grounds decision.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to introduce 12 months of individualised support for victims of modern slavery following a positive conclusive grounds decision.

Amanda Solloway: The Government has made clear its commitment that, where necessary, all those who receive a positive conclusive grounds decision and are in need of specific support will receive appropriate tailored support for a minimum of 12 months.We are actively considering how to deliver this commitment in a way that best serves the individual needs of modern slavery victims and will be able to provide further details in due course.

Slavery: Victim Support Schemes

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on introducing 12 months of individualised support for victims of modern slavery following a positive conclusive grounds decision.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will enact the provision in the Nationality and Borders Bill which provides for 12 months of individualised support for victims of modern slavery following a positive conclusive grounds decision.

Amanda Solloway: The Government has made clear its commitment that, where necessary, all those who receive a positive conclusive grounds decision and are in need of specific support will receive appropriate tailored support for a minimum of 12 months.We are actively considering how to deliver this commitment in a way that best serves the individual needs of modern slavery victims and will be able to provide further details in due course.

Domestic Abuse: Older People

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support (a) Hourglass and (b) other charities that provide advice to older victims of domestic abuse.

Amanda Solloway: We know that domestic abuse affects a wide and disparate group and that a “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate to support all victims. Whilst anyone can suffer from domestic abuse, for older victims, abuse may be more hidden and disguised, or compounded by other age-related factors such as ill health.We understand the importance of specialist and ‘by and for’ services (specialist services that are designed and delivered by and for the users and communities they aim to serve) in providing the tailored support that victims and survivors of domestic abuse need. We work closely with and fund organisations providing this vital support, including the charity Hourglass. In 2021/22, the Home Office provided Hourglass over £200,000 to support their work in enhancing their helpline, providing casework support, and training specialist IDVAs. For 2022/23, we have provided pro-rata funding for an extended 8 months.In July 2022, we published our Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance which will support frontline services in identifying and responding to domestic abuse, including recognising unique barriers and experiences that some victims, including with protected characteristics or complex needs, may face.The guidance follows on from the landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, published in March 2022, which invests over £230 million of new funding to tackle domestic abuse, with over £140 million to support victims. This includes over £47 million in ringfenced funding for victims’ services.Our Domestic Abuse Plan also commits to, where possible, offering multi-year awards to funding to organisations supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse to support smaller organisations, including ‘by and for’ services, to offer a stable service to victims and survivors. The VAWG National Statement of Expectations, and Commissioning Toolkit, published alongside the Plan, supports commissioners to increase provision of ‘by and for’ and specialist services.

Julian Assange

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she or her officials have had discussions with their counterparts in the Spanish Government on reported attempts to assassinate Julian Assange.

Stephen McPartland: The Home Office have not had any such discussions with the Spanish Government.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to introduce a fee waiver for applications for indefinite leave to remain.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help people who were placed on a ten year route to settlement in July 2012 and are reaching the end of this ten year period but cannot afford to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Kevin Foster: Settlement in the UK is a privilege, not an automatic entitlement. Anyone not qualifying for settlement, including being unable to pay the fee, is able to apply to extend their permission to stay in the UK.There is already a fee waiver in place for those making applications to extend their permission to stay in the UK who cannot afford the fee, are destitute, at risk of imminent destitution or where the welfare of a child would be put at risk by payment of the fee.It is right for users of the immigration system, who benefit directly, to be charged a fee. Although a fee waiver is not available for settlement, it is available for an application for permission to stay in the UK and this arrangement allows an individual to continue with their life in the UK, and even to apply for access to public funds if necessary. They can then apply for settlement once they have saved the necessary funds to pay the application fee.Income from fees charged plays a vital role in the Home Office’s ability to run a sustainable Migration and Borders system and it is the government’s policy those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing reliance on the UK taxpayer. Fees levels and access to fee waivers are reviewed regularly.

Passports: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications have taken longer than 10 weeks to process since the 10 week processing time was introduced in April 2021.

Kevin Foster: The volume of UK passport applications that were processed in over 10 weeks from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2022 represents1.6 % of the UK applications processed within that period.

Passports: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications exceeded HM Passport Office’s service delivery timescales in (a) June 2022 and (b) June 2019.

Kevin Foster: Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their British passport as more than 5 million people delayed applying due to the pandemic.Across the first 6 months of 2022, Her Majesty’s Passport Office processed 97.7% of UK standard applications within 10 weeks.

Passports: Delivery Services

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the service delivery standards are for the companies contracted by her Department to deliver passports to applicants; and what recent assessment she has made of whether those standards have been met.

Kevin Foster: The service delivery standards and recent performance against these are as per below:Fed ExSLA DescriptionTarget Performance June 202224-hour delivery (Urgent services)99.75%99.83%48-hour delivery (Standard service)99.75%99.76% DHL UKSLA DescriptionTargetPerformance June 2022Attempted delivery within 2 working days after collection, for addresses in mainland UK.99.75%99.93%Attempted delivery within 3 working days after collection, for addresses in all other UK locations.99.5%99.96% DHL Global Forwarding (International)SLA descriptionTargetPerformance May 2022Dispatched packages that delivery/redelivery was attempted to the correct address and within the timeframe agreed.99.75%99.96%

Passports: Applications

James Sunderland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to clear the backlog of passport applications; and whether her Department is taking steps to install new infrastructure to speed up new applications.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021. This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.Across the first 6 months of 2022, HM Passport Office processed 97.7% of UK standard applications within 10 weeks.

HM Passport Office: Agency Workers

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) value for money of and (b) level of service provided by the agency staff working at HM Passport Office.

Kevin Foster: The addition of Agency staff is a routine management action which ensures the seasonal demand for passports is resourced in the most cost-efficient way.HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021, this included agency staff. This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.

Asylum: Rwanda

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the guidance entitled Country policy and information note: Rwanda, assessment, published on 11 May 2022, if she will make an assessment of the (a) objectivity, (b) impartiality and (c) independence of that guidance in the context of it having been sent to the Government of Rwanda for comment and amendment prior to publication.

Simon Baynes: We are entirely confident in our assessment, our methodology and the objectivity and impartiality of the report.The UK retained editorial control throughout the process.

Offenders: Deportation

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained under immigration powers in a prison at the end of their sentence in 2021; and how many of those people were subsequently released back into the community at the end of their period of detention.

Simon Baynes: The Home Office publishes statistics on people entering, leaving and in immigration detention in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of people in detention at the end of each quarter are in table Det_02 of the ‘Detention detailed datasets’ and can be broken down by place of detention including by ‘H M Prisons’ with the latest data relating to the end of March 2022.Data on in detention counts the number of people in detention on the last day of the period (e.g. 31 December).Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.The number of people leaving detention by reason for leaving are in table Det_04a of the ‘Detention summary tables’ with the number of people leaving detention by last place of detention (including ‘H M Prisons’) are in table Det_04c of the ‘Detention summary tables’ with the latest data relating to the year ending March 2022.Last place of detention does not show where an individual spent their time in detention. In some cases, an individual may have spent a period of time detained elsewhere before being moved to their last place of detention.

Passports: Applications

James Sunderland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) clear the backlog of passport application cases and (b) ensure new applications are not delayed.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021. This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.Across the first 6 months of 2022, HM Passport Office processed 97.7% of UK standard applications within 10 weeks.

HM Passport Office

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of recruitment for HM Passport Office in respect of meeting (a) the current and (b) future level of demand,; and if she will take steps to increase salaries offered to those staff in the context of recent trends of inflation.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021. This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.HM Passport Office will continue to recruit to cover attrition, ensuring that it remains fully resourced.Pay negotiations for Home Office staff are ongoing.

Visas

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's decision to extend the standard processing times for family visas to 24 weeks, what consultation her Department undertook prior to making that decision; and what assessment her Department has made of the impact of that decision on people awaiting visa decisions, particularly in respect of their right to family life.

Kevin Foster: The 24-week service standard is based on expected processing times due to the increased number of outstanding family visa applications. This increase was due to the prioritisation of Ukraine Visa Schemes applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Staff from other government departments, including DWP and HMRC, have been surged into the department to help with Ukraine work and enable normal visa routes to return to normal service levels in due course. Applicants were informed of the change to a 24-week service standard on 11 May 2022 and the department is currently operating within this. The Department is aware of potential impacts of applicants awaiting visa decisions. Requests to expedite spousal visa applications where there are compelling or compassionate circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis and take a range of factors into consideration.

Passports: Applications

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional staff she plans to recruit in 2022 to clear the backlog of passport applications.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021. This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.HM Passport Office will continue to recruit to cover attrition, ensuring that it remains fully resourced.

Passports

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential merits of issuing passport holders whose passports were near to expiry with renewal reminder letters during the covid-19 outbreak.

Kevin Foster: Since November 2020, Her Majesty’s Passport Office has sent over 5 million reminder text messages to customers with passports nearing expiry.In February 2021, 6,000 customers were sent reminder letters in a small pilot to test the merits of this approach. Response rates were found to be considerably lower than for text messages, and due to the higher costs (over £0.39 per unit) this option has not been pursued.

Youth Mobility Scheme

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reallocating the number of places available for foreign nationals to enter the UK under Youth Mobility Scheme agreements each year from countries where the level of uptake in the annual allocation is low to countries where that level is high.

Kevin Foster: Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) allocations are set on an annual basis and are written into the Immigration Rules for clarity for individual partner countries.The quota is largely based on the number of British nationals being afforded youth mobility visas by said partner country in the preceding year, rather than based on an overall number across all YMS schemes.The approach ensures fair allocation for partner countries on the basis of reciprocal offers to young British nationals.

Members: Correspondence

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many casework enquiries her Department received from MPs’ offices in (a) June 2019 and (b) June 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Department does not provide information on the intake of casework enquiries received from MP’s offices.Data about intake and performance in answering Hon. Members correspondence are published quarterly with the latest Quarter available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-q1-2022

Members: Correspondence

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many casework enquiries her Department received from MPs’ offices in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Department does not provide information on the intake of casework enquiries received from MP’s offices.Data about intake and performance in answering Hon. Members correspondence are published quarterly with the latest Quarter available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-q1-2022

Passports: Applications

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to require that passport applications are processed at the processing centre closest to the place of residence of the applicant.

Kevin Foster: Her Majesty’s Passport Office balances work across its processing centres to ensure it is managed as effectively as possible.This is an essential part of meeting the unprecedented demand we have seen for passports at the present time.

Youth Mobility Scheme: India

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the guidance on the India Young Professionals Scheme.

Kevin Foster: The India Young Professionals Scheme has not yet opened, therefore Indian nationals cannot yet apply.We are working with the Government of India to ensure a reciprocal scheme for UK Nationals is launched in line with the commitments made by both countries in the Migration and Mobility Partnership agreement, signed in May last year.More information about the scheme will be provided on our gov.uk web pages, including details of the ballot process and how to make an application once the scheme has launched.

Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential merits of entering into a Youth Mobility Scheme agreement with (a) the EU and (b) individual EU member states on a bilateral basis.

Kevin Foster: We remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories including the EU or individual nations within it.However, as each YMS is subject to a reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK nationals with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.

Immigration: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many further leave to remain applications exceeded usual service delivery timescales in (a) June 2022 and (b) June 2019.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office do not specifically capture information on what proportion of applications for further leave to remain have exceed their usual service standard. This information is collated alongside applications for leave to remain. To obtain this data separately would require a manual trawl of cases and would incur a disproportionate costThe Home Office transparency data contains data of our performance against service standard for leave to remain applications. This can be found in VC_02 of our transparency data: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

HM Passport Office: Staff

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the attrition rate of (a) permanent, (b) full-time equivalent, (c) agency and (d) other staff in HM Passport Office was for the period between 1 April 2021 and 31 December 2021.

Kevin Foster: This data is not held in a reportable format. However, HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021.This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.HM Passport Office will continue to recruit in order to cover staff leaving, ensuring it remains fully resourced.

HM Passport Office: Staff

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the attrition rate of (a) permanent, (b) full-time equivalent, (c) agency and (d) other staff in HM Passport Office was for the period between 1 January 2022 and 31 March 2022.

Kevin Foster: This data is not held in a reportable format. However, HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021.This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.HM Passport Office will continue to recruit to cover staff leaving, ensuring it remains fully resourced.

HM Passport Office: Staff

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) permanent, (b) full-time equivalent, (c) agency and (d) other staff were recruited to HM Passport Office in the period between 1 April 2021 and 31 December 2021.

Kevin Foster: Staffing numbers at Her Majesty’s Passport Office have increased by over 1200 since April 2021. Its recruitment will continue to cover any attrition, ensuring the passport service remains fully resourced.We are committed to ensuring public services are run as efficiently and effectively as possible. Given elevated demand will not continue indefinitely, it would be inappropriate to increase resources on a permanent basis. Therefore, while there has been some recruitment of civil servants, most of these additional staff have been agency workers.

HM Passport Office: Staff

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the attrition rate was for (a) permanent, (b) fixed-term, (c) agency and (d) other staff in HM Passport Office in the period between 1 April 2022 and 21 July 2022.

Kevin Foster: This data is not held in a reportable format. However, HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased over 1200 since April 2021.This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, at approximately one million each month.HM Passport Office will continue to recruit to cover staff leaving, ensuring it remains fully resourced.

Visas: Republic of Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the guidance issued on 20 July 2022 entitled New Plan for Immigration: Legal Migration and Border Control, what discussions she has had with the Irish government on the potential merits of granting an Electronic Travel Authorisation exemption for visa nationals resident in the Republic of Ireland.

Kevin Foster: As is currently the case, individuals arriving in the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland, will need to continue to enter in line with the UK’s immigration framework, including the requirement to obtain an ETA when it is introduced. Visa nationals will continue to require a visa for the UK when travelling via the Republic of Ireland, in order to lawfully enter the UK. Our position is similar to the requirement set by the Irish Government for visa nationals who wish to travel to the Republic of Ireland from the UK, who must seek a visa to enter the Republic before doing so.However, as now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the Common Travel Area, with no immigration controls whatsoever on the land border.The UK remains committed to working with Ireland to consider whether a satisfactory data sharing agreement can be reached to exempt third country nationals who are resident in Ireland from the ETA requirement. If an agreement cannot be reached, the requirement will apply to all those travelling to the UK from Ireland.

Youth Mobility Scheme

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of negotiating and entering into Youth Mobility Scheme agreements with (a) Brazil, (b) Switzerland and (c) the US.

Kevin Foster: We remain open to negotiating Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, where those countries and territories can offer schemes similar to our YMS.However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal agreement which also provides benefit to UK nationals with the detail negotiated and agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.

Refugees: Ukraine

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the (a) interim and (b) subsequent payments available under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme are not provided under the Ukraine Family Scheme.

Kevin Foster: The Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS) was launched in March 2022 as a bespoke response to the unprecedented events in Ukraine, and is intended as a light touch, temporary, alternative to the existing family routes under Appendix FM.Applicants under Appendix FM are not normally given access to public funds, except in exceptional circumstances. Under the UFS full access to work and the benefits system (including access to homelessness assistance) are provided, giving beneficiaries the opportunity to seek an income to enable them to find their own accommodation in the future should they so wish.The Homes for Ukraine Scheme extended the support offered to allow Ukrainians to come to the UK who did not already have family ties here. Whilst it is normal to expect family networks to support family members the Home for Ukraine Scheme was specifically set up to provide support for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict who are not able to rely on family support.Ukrainian nationals coming to the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme are given identical access to work, benefits and public services for the duration of the leave granted.

Passports: Applications

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of applicants affected by passport application processing delays in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what steps her Department is taking to clear the backlog in passport applications.

Kevin Foster: Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks to get their passport. Across the first 6 months of 2022, Her Majesty’s Passport Office processed 97.7% of UK standard applications within 10 weeks.HM Passport Office staffing numbers have been increased by over 1200 since April 2021. This has delivered the operational capacity needed to process applications in record numbers, with approximately one million being dealt with each month.

Asylum: Electronic Tagging

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an equality impact assessment on the use of electronic monitoring of asylum seekers.

Kevin Foster: On 15 June 2022, the Government introduced a 12-month pilot to test whether electronic monitoring (EM) is an effective means by which to improve and maintain regular contact with asylum claimants who arrive in the UK via unnecessary and dangerous routes. This is to assist in progress their claims more effectively toward conclusion.This pilot operates in parallel to our established EM processes under which foreign national offenders who have outstanding asylum claims may be subject to EM as a condition of bail.Equality Impact Assessments on the use of electronic monitoring of asylum seekers have been conducted and will be published in due course.

Identity Cards: EU Nationals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of withdrawing the ability of minors from the European Union to travel to the UK on their identity cards on (a) London, (b) the South East, (c) England, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) Wales and (f) Scotland.

Kevin Foster: We expect all EU, EEA and Swiss citizen visitors to hold a valid passport in order to enter the UK, in the same way as we do for visitors from any other country. An impact assessment was undertaken of this change prior to implementation. Almost a year’s notice was provided to allow people and groups to plan ahead and obtain passports where they did not already have them before they travel.

HM Passport Office: ICT

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the end date for using the Application Management System at HM Passport Office.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office forecasts that the Application Management System will be decommissioned five months after Digital Application Processing becomes the sole passport processing system.

HM Passport Office: ICT

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) timeline and (b) final implementation date is for Digital Application Processing at HM Passport Office to be fully functional.

Kevin Foster: HM Passport Office have transitioned 75-85% of applications to the new Digital Application Processing service and will iteratively transition the remainder as new capability is developed and business changes can be implemented.Plans are based on a balance of the pace of development, the operational ability to manage the magnitude or frequency of change, and the necessity of maintaining service stability under exceptional levels of demand.

Cybercrime

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what level of resources her Department plans to allocate to tackling cybercrime in each of the next five years.

Stephen McPartland: Tackling cyber crime is at the heart of the Government’s new National Cyber Strategy which is supported by £2.6bn of new investment over the three year Spending Review period. We are continuing to build law enforcement capabilities at the national, regional and local levels to ensure they have the capacity to deal with the increasing volume and sophistication of cyber crime, which includes ensuring officers are being trained and upskilled.

Prevent Independent Review

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the report of the Independent Review of Prevent.

Stephen McPartland: The Independent Review of Prevent is currently ongoing. The report is currently being finalised and once formally received and after full consideration, the report and the Government’s response to it will be published.

Skilled Workers: Vacancies

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on plans to commission a review of the Shortage Occupation List by the Migration Advisory Committee; what the expected timescale is for that review; and whether the findings of that review will be published.

Kevin Foster: The Government expects to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) shortly to review the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). As per the other SOL commissions, this will be published.Once they have been commissioned, the MAC will issue a call for evidence, allowing sufficient time to engage with stakeholders and for them to respond, and then review the evidence provided in a timely manner.The MAC will publish their findings and recommendations before the Government makes any changes to the SOL based on this advice.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether regulations or guidelines are in place to ensure that agricultural workers on the Seasonal Worker visa (a) are not expected to work in unsafe or dangerous conditions during extreme temperatures and (b) do not suffer from a loss of earnings in the event that weather extremes prevent them from working.

Kevin Foster: Agricultural workers on the Seasonal Worker visa enjoy the same rights and protections as settled workers in the UK.Sponsors, and by extension the growers hosting these workers, also have a duty of care to their workers and are expected to comply with the sponsor guidance which requires them to give workers time off, proper breaks, and to ensure the workers’ work environment is safe and complies with relevant Health and Safety requirements. Non-compliance with the guidance could result in the revocation of their sponsor license.

Passports: Fees and Charges

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to waive the fee for an upgrade of a passport application in the event that the original application has not been processed within the published service standard processing time; and if she will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: Upgrades to urgent services are only required where an applicant needs a passport sooner than ten weeks.For the small percentage of customers whose applications take longer than ten weeks, there is an expedited service at no additional cost to help ensure they receive their passport ahead of any planned travel.

Seasonal Workers: Fees and Charges

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many investigations have been (a) launched, (b) concluded with action taken and (c) concluded with no action taken by (i) the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and (ii) the Home Office Migration and Borders Group regarding allegations of unlawful fees being charged to seasonal workers by overseas recruitment agents since 2019.

Kevin Foster: The GLAA is the relevant regulatory body for the investigation of unlawful fees being charged in the UK.UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) in Migration and Borders Group is responsible for the Seasonal Workers Scheme and conduct of the operators. Neither body has jurisdiction over work finding fee offences which may have occurred overseas that do not involve the SWS operators.Where such matters come to the attention of the GLAA or UKVI they will, where possible, raise such matters with overseas authorities if it is also illegal to charge fees in those jurisdictions.

HM Passport Office: Staff

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the PCS press notice of 26 April 2022 on passport services, how many new staff have been recruited by HM Passport Office in the last two years; and what proportion of those new staff are agency staff.

Kevin Foster: Staffing numbers at Her Majesty’s Passport Office have increased by over 1200 since April 2021. Its recruitment will continue to cover any attrition, to ensure that the passport service remains fully resourced.We are committed to ensuring public services are run as efficiently and effectively as possible. Given elevated demand will not continue indefinitely, it is appropriate to have flexible resources available. Therefore, while there has been some recruitment of civil servants, the use of agency workers is appropriate in this context.

Passports: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications were (a) submitted and (b) processed in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Kevin Foster: Data for applications submitted are published quarterly with the latest quarter available at :  HM Passport Office data: Q1 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(b) Applications ProcessedJul-21350,451Aug-21353,444Sep-21411,172Oct-21480,861Nov-21552,053Dec-21405,624Jan-22438,448Feb-22734,072Mar-221,030,359Apr-22898,205May-221,068,072Jun-22898,777Between March and May, over 90% of applications were processed within 6 weeks, and 98.5% within the 10 week standard timeframe.

Asylum: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) people have submitted an asylum claim and (b) asylum claims have been processed in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications raised are published in table Asy_D01, and data on initial decisions on asylum applications are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.The latest data relates to the year ending June 2022. Data for July 2022 to the end of September 2022 is set to be published on 24 November 2022.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

British Nationality: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for British citizenship were (a) submitted and (b) processed in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many British citizenship applications took longer than six months for a decision to be reached in (a) June 2019 and (b) June 2022.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many British citizenship applications have taken longer than six months for a decision to be reached in the last 12 months.

Kevin Foster: The Secretary of State’s Home Department publishes data on naturalisation applications made and completed every quarter on the Gov.uk website. This includes performance against the six-month service standard for completing applications. The most recent data set was published on 25 August 2022 and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visas-and-citizenship-data-q2-2022The June 2019 data has been archived but can be found here:[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Visas and citizenship data: February 2020 - GOV.UK (nationalarchives.gov.uk)

Immigration: Applications

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) people have applied for further leave to remain relating to human rights and family claims and (b) applications for further leave to remain relating to human rights and family claims were processed in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many undecided further leave to remain applications relating to human rights and family claims there were in each month between July 2021 and July 2022.

Kevin Foster: The number of applications for leave to remain in the UK received on each route in each quarter are published at the link below.Tab HR_01 refers to HR/Complex applications received – which include human rights and family leave to remain cases.Tab HR_03 refers to HR/Complex applications outstanding – which include human rights and family leave to remain cases.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visas-and-citizenship-data-q2-2022

Home Affairs Committee

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she did not attend the meeting of the Home Affairs Committee on the 13th July 2022; and on what date she next expects to attend a meeting of that Committee.

Priti Patel: My reasons for not attending the Home Affairs Select Committee oral evidence session on 13th July are set out in correspondence to the Committee which is publicly available.Home Office and Committee staff are currently working to rearrange this session for September.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Energy Bills Rebate

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Council Tax Energy Rebate, whether households that were not resident on 1 April 2022 are entitled to a payment from the discretionary fund.

Paul Scully: Eligibility criteria for payments from the discretionary fund are for the local council concerned to determine.

Energy Bills Rebate

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Council Tax Energy Rebate, whether (a) a house in multiple occupation and (b) any other properties would be entitled to receive a £150 payment plus an additional discretionary fund payment.

Paul Scully: Tenants of houses in multiple occupation are often not liable for council tax but if they are responsible for energy costs, they may be able to apply to their local council for support from its discretionary fund. The eligibility criteria for discretionary fund payments are determined by local councils, and may include providing discretionary support in the form of a ‘top-up’ payment to households who are eligible for the core rebate or payments that total more than £150 to tenants of a house in multiple occupation.

Energy Bills Rebate

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department’s guidance on the Council Tax Energy Rebate, published on 16th March 2022 which states that councils can use the discretionary fund to offer carefully targeted 'top-up' payments to the most vulnerable households in bands A to D, or to offer discretionary support exceeding £150, whether there is an upper limit to the amount that can be paid from that fund to any one household.

Paul Scully: The Department has not set an upper limit to the amount that can be paid from the discretionary fund to any one household.

Energy Bills Rebate

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the guidance entitled Support for energy bills - the council tax rebate 2022-23: billing authority guidance, published on 16 March 2022, whether the requirement that payment methods other than BACS are acceptable would require councils to make payments in cash.

Paul Scully: Councils should not normally make payments in cash. Where, exceptionally, a cash payment is considered appropriate, councils should satisfy themselves that the person receiving the money is entitled to payment and keep an appropriate audit trail.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the potential merits of the proposal to site the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at Victoria Tower Gardens were compared with the potential merits of placing it with the Imperial War Museum; how the decision was taken; and if he will place the comparison in the Library.

Paul Scully: The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation considered almost 50 locations for the Holocaust Memorial, including the Imperial War Museum, none of which were deemed to meet the published criteria. The Foundation subsequently suggested Victoria Tower Gardens as a potential location and following investigations into the feasibility of this site, recommended it to Government in January 2016 as the best choice of site. The then Prime Minister accepted this recommendation and announced Victoria Tower Gardens as the chosen site on Holocaust Memorial Day 2016.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what date following the publication of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation briefing entitled Search for a Central London site in September 2015, did their Department become aware of the plan to site the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what date following the publication in September 2015 of theHolocaust Memorial Foundation briefing entitled Search for a Central London site did their Department become aware of the plan to site the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Paul Scully: UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation member Lord Andrew Feldman wrote to the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon John Whittingdale, on 26 October 2015 proposing that the Holocaust Memorial be located in Victoria Tower Gardens.Following investigations into the feasibility of this site, the Foundation recommended Victoria Tower Gardens to the Government in January 2016 as the best choice of site. The then Prime Minister accepted this recommendation and announced Victoria Tower Gardens as the chosen site on Holocaust Memorial Day 2016.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Eddie Hughes: Figures for consultancy spend are included each year in the Department's annual report. Details of contracts awarded valued at £10,000 (inc VAT) or more are published on https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. Information on our spending, including consultancy, is published regularly as part of our Transparency information https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dluhc-spending-over-250-march-2022Consultancy contracts are procured in line with Government procurement rules and are also subject to internal and Cabinet Office assurance through the spending controls process.

Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Ben Everitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the developer pledge for building safety, whether developers will be required to remediate buildings to the standard required by the Regulator in order that buildings are not fixed initially by the developer and then need further work to satisfy the Regulator.

Eddie Hughes: We want to make sure that buildings are made safe quickly and proportionately. Over 45 of the largest developers have already signed a pledge to take responsibility for all necessary work to address life-critical, fire-safety defects on buildings 11 metres and over that they had a role in developing or refurbishing.On 13 July, we published the draft of a contract with developers. The draft contract, once finalised and executed, will turn the commitments made in the pledge into a legally binding agreement.The draft agreement includes the requirement for developers to ensure that, once the necessary remediation work has been performed, a fire risk assessment and/or a fire risk assessment of external walls (depending on the defects originally identified) signing off that the risks have been satisfactorily addressed is issued.Whilst it is possible there may be some work for which the original developer is not responsible, the expectation is that developers will fix all life critical fire safety defects arising from the original development or refurbishment. Building works will be overseen by a building control body (although this will always be the Building Safety Regulator for higher-risk buildings) and will need to comply with Building Regulations.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what advice his Department provides to leaseholders living in blocks where lenders require an EWS1 certificate to progress a sale but freeholders refuse to apply for such a certificate.

Eddie Hughes: An EWS1 form is used as a valuation tool to inform lenders of financial risk. The Building Safety Act introduced clarity on liabilities for making buildings safe and financial protections for leaseholders. As a result, on July 15th the largest mortgage lenders confirmed that, subject to their normal policy requirements, they will be able to lend on any property that is part of a developer or government remediation scheme or properties that are protected by the new statutory protections, as evidenced by a qualifying lease certificate. This statement can be found here.Qualifying leaseholders will no longer face bills to remediate unsafe cladding systems on their building, removing financial risk. We are working with the industry to quickly operationalise these changes and expect the challenges faced by those struggling to buy and sell, including the need to access EWS1 forms, will be eased.Leaseholders should complete the deed of certificate in the Leaseholder Information Regulations to demonstrate they own a qualifying lease and benefit from the protections. Further guidance for leaseholders on the leaseholder protections and completing the certificates has been published by the Department here.

Private Rented Housing

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to consult on his Department's white paper entitled A fairer private rented sector, published on 16 June 2022.

Eddie Hughes: The plans set out in our White Paper were informed by extensive formal and informal consultation with stakeholders from across the Private Rented Sector (PRS). We have no further plans to formally consult on the White Paper but will continue to undertake wide-ranging engagement with tenants, landlords, local councils and interested groups in the sectorWe know that these reforms cannot deliver the change needed without the input of those that live and work in the PRS.The consultation responses that we published alongside the White Paper can be found at gov.ukHousing Court Reform: call for evidencePost Implementation Review of the mediation pilot responseTenancy Reform Consultation responseTenancy Deposit Reform: call for evidence

Buildings: Safety

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to make the deed of certificate provided for by the Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2022 available to leaseholders.

Eddie Hughes: The leaseholder deed of certificate sets out the information that building owners need for the purposes of applying the leaseholder protections. This is set out in the Schedule to the Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2022. The certificate can be found here.The certificate has also been uploaded to the GOV.UK website as part of the Building Safety Leaseholder Protections: Guidance for leaseholders and can be found here.

Employment: Learning Disability

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of supporting local authorities to improve (a) work placement and (b) employment (i) practices and (ii) opportunities for people with learning disabilities.

Paul Scully: Local authorities are independent, democratic bodies who have the freedom and flexibility to manage their own employment matters. They are best placed to understand and make these decisions based on what their individual needs are. DLUHC ministers do not have any formal role in such matters Through The Careers & Enterprise Company, the Department for Education (DfE) will continue to work with all local authorities to ensure that local priorities are fed into the provision of careers advice, so that it is employer-led, integrated, and meets local needs Supported internships are a structured, work-based study programme for 16 to 24-year-olds with SEND, who have an education, health, and care plan (EHCP). DfE are investing up to £18 million in supported internships over the next three years, aiming to double the capacity of the supported internships programme to provide more young people with EHCPs with the skills they need to secure and sustain paid employment.’DWP have strengthened the Disability Employment Adviser role, delivering direct support to claimants who require additional work related support and supporting all work coaches to deliver tailored, personalised support to claimants with a disability or health condition including those with a learning disability.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which organisations are represented on the Northern Ireland partnership group in relation to the Shared Prosperity Fund investment plan.

Lia Nici: The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will support the UK Government’s wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK by delivering on each of the levelling up objectives. The Fund will be delivered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), working closely with Northern Ireland partners through a Partnership Group to design a Northern Ireland Investment Plan.DLUHC have established the Northern Ireland UKSPF Partnership Group with representative groups for key sectors, including the voluntary and community sector, business, higher education/skills and local authorities, as well as the Northern Ireland Office. A record of the first meeting, and subsequent meetings, will be published on GOV.UK in due course. We are also engaging with other stakeholders through workshops and meetings to maximise thematic and sectoral insight.Its membership will be reviewed on conclusion of the Investment Plan process, as the Fund moves into its delivery phase. The organisations currently represented on the Northern Ireland Partnership Group are: Organisation SectorDepartment for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)UKGNorthern Ireland OfficeUKGSociety of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) (Mid Ulster District Council)Local governmentSociety of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) (Belfast City Council)Local governmentQueen’s University BelfastHigher education/skillsNorthern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA)Voluntary and communityChief Officers Third Sector (CO3)Voluntary and communityNOW GroupSocial enterpriseNorthern Ireland Chamber of CommerceBusinessConfederation of British IndustryBusiness

Planning

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the National Planning Policy Framework prospectus.

Mr Marcus Jones: The timing and content of any consultation on possible changes to national planning policy will be considered once the new Prime Minister is in place and any new Ministerial appointments have been made.

Parking: Death

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many deaths caused by falling from multi-storey car parks is his Department aware of having happened over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: I would like to thank the Hon Member for raising this important issue. The Department is aware of some fatalities caused by falling from multi storey car parks but does not compile figures on the number of deaths from falling from multi-storey car parks.

Parking: Death

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many prevention of future deaths reports, including Rule 43 reports, his Department and its predecessors have received in each of the last 10 years relating to deaths caused by falls from multi-storey car parks.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will place all prevention of future deaths and Rule 43 reports his Department has received in each of the last 10 years relating to falls from multi-storey car parks in the Library.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department has no record of receiving any Rule 43 reports relating to falls from multi-storey car parks in the past 10 year period.

Local Government Finance

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of progress on reviewing the funding formula for Government funding to local authorities.

Paul Scully: This Government remains committed to ensuring that funding allocations for councils are based on an up-to-date assessment of their needs and resources. We will continue to work closely with the sector and other stakeholders to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector before consulting on any potential changes.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Conor Burns: Spend on consultancy services for the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years is shown below.2021-222020-212019-202018-192017-18£901,663£1,017,816£ 1,544,240£1,432,132£858,431 Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.

Treasury

Car Allowances

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to review the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments rate.

Ben Lake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of recent increases in fuel prices on the efficacy of the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments rate.

Alan Mak: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rates to minimise administrative burdens. The current AMAP rates allow employees to claim up to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence for each subsequent mile, tax free if they use their private car or van for business purposes. An additional 5 pence per mile may also be claimed for every passenger transported. AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, depreciation, servicing, insurance, and Vehicle Excise Duty. As it is an average, the rate is necessarily more appropriate for some drivers than others. Employers are not required to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse a different amount that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. If an employee is paid less than the AMAP rate, they can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. However, where payments exceed the relevant AMAP rate, there will be an Income Tax and National Insurance charge on the difference. The Government keeps the AMAP rates, like all taxes and allowances, under review and any changes are considered by the Chancellor.

Car Allowances

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the fuel mileage allowance rates.

Alan Mak: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rates to minimise administrative burdens.The current AMAP rates allow employees to claim up to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence for each subsequent mile, tax free if they use their private car or van for business purposes. An additional 5 pence per mile may also be claimed for every passenger transported.AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, depreciation, servicing, insurance, and Vehicle Excise Duty. As it is an average, the rate is necessarily more appropriate for some drivers than others.Employers are not required to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse a different amount that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. If an employee is paid less than the AMAP rate, they can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. However, where payments exceed the relevant AMAP rate, there will be an Income Tax and National Insurance charge on the difference.The Government keeps the AMAP rates, like all taxes and allowances, under review and any changes are considered by the Chancellor.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using differential rates of Stamp Duty to incentivise the development or purchase of comparatively energy efficient housing.

Lucy Frazer: The Government does not have any plans to reform Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). SDLT is charged on the purchase of property or land in England and Northern Ireland where the value is over £125,000. First-time buyers do not pay any SDLT on purchases below £300,000. Introducing incentives based on energy consumption would add significant complexity to the current operation of the system. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Uber

Sam Tarry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have held with representatives of Uber since 2017.

Sam Tarry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) he and (b) the former Chancellor have had with representatives from Uber since 2017.

Alan Mak: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Children: Day Care

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of levels of nursery care costs on economic productivity and output.

Alan Mak: The government recognises the importance of families being able to access affordable childcare, including nursery care, in allowing parents to work. The government offers a range of support for parents to help with childcare costs, including access to early education through the Department for Education’s free hours entitlements, and financial support with childcare through Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) and Universal Credit (UC) childcare offers. In addition to this support, the government remains committed to driving down childcare costs for providers and parents. In July, it announced a series of measures to achieve this including consulting on increasing the number of children that can be looked after by each staff member in early years settings; taking action to grow the childminder market; reforming the way early years funding is distributed in England; and driving a renewed campaign to increase take-up of UC Childcare and TFC.

Pay

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the assumptions on which the OECD has produced its projection for UK wage growth to be (a) negative and (b) the worst performing in the G7 over the next 2 years.

Richard Fuller: UK inflation has risen rapidly largely because of global factors such as higher global energy prices and post-pandemic supply chain bottlenecks. More recently domestic factors have played a role; in its June Economic Outlook, the OECD stated that UK wage compensation per employee growth was 5.2% in 2022 and is forecast to be 4.2% in 2023. High inflation is putting downwards pressure on real wages across G7 economies. The Government understands the pressure households are under, and this year is providing a total of £37bn of support, including £550 of support to the vast majority of households, and at least £1200 to millions of the most vulnerable. In the long term however, the best way to raise living standards is through economic growth, which the government is taking action on through initiatives to boost growth and productivity across the country.

Children: Day Care

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to review the tax-free childcare allowance with a view to increasing it from the current £2000 per child per year.

Mr Simon Clarke: Tax Free Childcare provides financial support for working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child aged up to 11, and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they’re 17. The Government spent £43 million on TFC top-up for families in March 2022 (the most recent data). The £2,000 Tax-Free Childcare top-up, which can be claimed per year and per child, was set at this level because the Government believes it strikes the right balance between helping parents with their childcare costs, and managing the public finances in a responsible way.  The Government is committed to supporting working parents and has recently announced a renewed campaign – via the Childcare Choices website - so parents who are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare but not using it yet can benefit from this support.

Debts: Ukraine

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional financial aid rather than loans to Ukraine to help support that country with its sovereign debt.

Richard Fuller: The UK is one of the largest aid donors to Ukraine and has committed over £3.8 billion in assistance. This includes approximately £400 million in economic and humanitarian grant support. To alleviate Ukraine’s debt burden, the UK, as part of the Group of Creditors to Ukraine, announced on 20 July a suspension of debt service due by Ukraine from 1 August 2022 to end-2023. This initiative provides fiscal support to Ukraine and will allow the government of Ukraine to focus its scarce resources on its urgent budgetary needs. The UK Government continues to closely monitor Ukraine’s financing needs in conjunction with its international partners and the IMF and World Bank and is working to ensure pledged funds reach Ukraine as rapidly as possible.

Treasury: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Alan Mak: A - Agency workers: Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “Contingent Labour” or “Temporary Workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area. This framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are: RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749, which provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full time sheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services. RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160, which provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services. Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs. HM Treasury has spent the following on agency workers: YearValue (£)2020783,22420211,029,4712022 (up to June)289,177 B - Agency retainer fees: We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post. Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market. HM Treasury has spent the following on agency retainer fees: YearValue (£)20206,3002021117,0382022165,851 The vast majority of HM Treasury’s agency retainer fees relate to the setup of the UK Infrastructure Bank.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date following the publication in September 2015 of theHolocaust Memorial Foundation briefing entitled Search for a Central London site did their Department become aware of the plan to site the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mr Simon Clarke: Since 2015, HM Treasury has been working closely with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to deliver on this Government’s manifesto commitment to construct the UK Holocaust Memorial.

National Insurance

Kate Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that National Insurance Numbers are issued three months before a person's 16th birthday.

Kate Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of people were not issued a National Insurance number in the three months before their 16th birthday in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC issues National Insurance Numbers to most young people just before their 16th birthday. In order for a child to be issued a National Insurance Number (NINo) automatically, the child must be part of a live Child Benefit claim when they are 15 years, 9 months old. If a child has been part of a claim, but is not part of a claim when they are 15 years, 9 months old, HMRC can be contacted to request a NINo. This process takes approximately 15 working days. If a child has never been part of a Child Benefit claim (or a claim for a childcare service administered by HMRC) HMRC will have no record of them. An online application can be made to the Department for Work and Pensions to obtain a NINo. HMRC does not collate information on the number of young people who cannot be included in the automatic process.

Mortgages: Reviews

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is responsible for the comprehensive review of the mortgage market announced by the Prime Minister on 9 June; and when that review will be published.

Richard Fuller: The Government is committed to helping as many first-time buyers as possible onto the housing ladder, and we continue to work to understand what more can be done in this area. The Prime Minister announced in June a package of policy measures designed to boost home ownership, which included looking at the mortgage market to understand its role in supporting first-time buyers. Working jointly with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, we are examining how to take this work forward.

Insurance Companies: Directors

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of measures taken to ensure that directors of insurance companies are fit and proper.

Richard Fuller: The Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are independent bodies responsible for the regulation and supervision of the financial services industry. They have set out rules determining the assessment of the fitness and propriety of individuals applying to become an approved person within an insurance company, including director, and are responsible for the monitoring of adherence to these rules. The government has no plans to change these arrangements.

Debts: Cost of Living

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in the cost of living on personal debt levels.

Richard Fuller: The Government is committed to monitoring and understanding personal debt levels in the UK, including the impact of cost-of-living pressures, and help individuals access appropriate guidance and support if they need help to get their finances back on track. Different organisations measure and define personal debt and problem debt in different ways. HM Treasury do not hold data on levels of personal debt or problem debt but monitors these measures regularly by working closely with the Money and Pensions Service, the Financial Conduct Authority and by engaging regularly with many other stakeholders on their research and findings. MaPS undertakes an annual survey of Debt Need to understand how many people are facing financial difficulties and to better understand their characteristics, needs and preferences. The most recent survey indicated that 16% (around 8.5 million) of the UK adult population needed debt advice, with a further 20% (around 10.6 million) ‘at risk’ and likely to need help if their situation deteriorates. The summary of their findings can be found in the link below: Who needs debt advice in 2022? | The Money and Pensions Service (maps.org.uk) MaPS also intends to publish constituency-level results later this year.

Insurance Companies

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to deter the practice of assignment of benefit only collection of premiums and avoiding liabilities by acquiring insurance companies.

Richard Fuller: The Financial Conduct Authority monitors the risk of firms’ non-compliance with its rules by maintaining regular and open dialogue with consumer organisations, trade associations, and other sources such as complaints information.The Financial Conduct Authority has not been made aware of widespread issues relating to assignment of benefits, and the Government does not currently plan on taking action.

NatWest Group: Individual Savings Accounts

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2022 to Question 34831 on NatWest Group: Child Trust Fund, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the Financial Ombudsman Service on complaints regarding NatWest Junior ISA accounts, in the context of the Government's majority stake in NatWest Group.

Richard Fuller: Treasury ministers and officials engage with stakeholders on a variety of issues. However, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an independent non-governmental body. The independence of the FOS underpins its credibility, authority and value to consumers. Although the Government discusses a range of issues with the FOS it does not therefore seek to intervene in its decision making. The Government also no longer holds a majority stake in NatWest Group and manages its shareholding at arm’s length on a commercial basis through UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI). UKGI's role is to manage the investment, not the bank itself. NatWest Group retains its own independent board and management team for strategic and operational decisions.

Lamp Insurance Company: Insolvency

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of liabilities as a result of the liquidation of Lamp Insurance Company Limited being covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Richard Fuller: HM Treasury does not routinely provide estimates relating to Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) costs in relation to individual cases. The FSCS is funded by the financial services industry and is operationally independent of government. Firms that are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority pay an annual levy to fund FSCS compensation and management expenses. Some of the funding also comes through recoveries from the estates of failed firms and any third parties that might be liable for, or connected to, the compensation claim. This can reduce the cost of the levy to the wider industry. The FSCS also has in place a revolving credit facility with a consortium of private lenders from which it can drawdown at short notice. In the unlikely event the FSCS exhausts its available resources, it may request a loan from the National Loans Fund. This means public funds are only used to fund FSCS compensation in a very limited set of special circumstances.

Insurance Companies: Gibraltar

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what arrangements exist between authorities in the UK and Gibraltar for cooperation when investigating failed insurance companies at a cost to the public purse.

Richard Fuller: The Government is committed to maintaining high standards of consumer protection in UK financial services. Authorities within the UK and Gibraltar work together closely, including when insurance firms fail. The current arrangements for cooperation between the financial services regulators in Gibraltar and the UK are set out in a Memorandum of Understanding available here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/mou/fsa-mou-gibraltar.pdf. The forthcoming Gibraltar Authorisation Regime will be a new permanent legislative and institutional framework. It will govern UK market access for certain Gibraltar-based financial services firms, including insurers, and will cement arrangements for insolvency and resolution requirements.

Construction and Horticulture: Red Diesel

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2022 to Question 35899 on Fuels: Prices, in the context of significant increases in the cost of white diesel since the conclusion of the consultation on reforms to the tax treatment of red diesel and other rebated fuels, if he will reassess the impact of the removal of the red diesel fuel entitlement on the (a) construction and (b) horticultural industries, including landscape gardeners.

Alan Mak: In 2020, the Government ran a public consultation to make sure it had not overlooked any exceptional reasons why sectors currently using red diesel should be allowed to continue to do so beyond April 2022, and to seek views on its proposals for implementing the changes.Following the consultation, the Government decided that rebated fuel in certain vehicles and machines could continue to be used for purposes relating to horticulture. As set out in guidance on GOV.UK, for the purpose of rebated fuel entitlement, horticulture is treated as the cultivation and management of gardens (including vegetable plots, allotments and market gardens, but also flowerbeds, trees, shrubberies and ornamental lawns in public parks). In contrast, landscaping and maintenance of grassy recreational areas is not regarded as horticulture.The relevant guidance, Excise Notice 75, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-rebated-fuels-in-vehicles-and-machines-excise-notice-75-from-1-april-2022Having assessed the cases made by other sectors to retain their red diesel entitlement, including construction, the Government did not believe that they were compelling enough to outweigh the need to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and the Government’s long-term environmental objectives.

Alternative Fuels: Finance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2022 to Question 35899 on Fuels: Prices, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing further financial incentives for switching to cleaner alternatives to red diesel; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Mak: The Government announced in the 2020 Budget that it would be removing the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. These are important long-term reforms, which ensure most businesses that used red diesel prior to April 2022 now pay the same amount of tax as ordinary motorists. This more fairly reflects the harmful emissions produced. These reforms are also designed to incentivise the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies, and improvements in the energy efficiency of vehicles and machinery. To support the development of alternatives that affected businesses can switch to, the Government is at least doubling the funding provided for energy innovation through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. From that portfolio, the Government announced the £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition, which will provide grant funding for projects that develop and demonstrate lower carbon, lower cost alternatives to red diesel for the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors. These sectors were chosen because they encompass 62% of the UK’s red diesel use. However, the technologies developed from this programme will also be applicable to other sectors to support decarbonisation, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is planning a series of dissemination events in the future with industry and other affected sectors to spread awareness about the successes achieved and lessons learned through this programme.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of his Department's policies during the covid-19 outbreak on people who were ineligible to claim Government financial support in that period.

Mr Simon Clarke: Throughout the pandemic, the Government sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK. To do this, the Government has provided up to £400 billion of direct support for the economy. The Government is evaluating the delivery and impact of these schemes to ensure we learn lessons for the future. For example, the Government has already published a plan to evaluate the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The Government is also carrying out an evaluation of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which will be published in due course. The Government will continue to learn these lessons through formal evaluations and reports by independent bodies, such the National Audit Office, and through the work of the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry.

Cost of Living: Coronavirus

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the cost of living crisis on people who were ineligible to claim Government financial support during the covid-19 outbreak.

Mr Simon Clarke: Throughout the pandemic, the Government sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK. To do this, the Government has provided up to £400 billion of direct support for the economy. COVID-19 support schemes were designed at pace at the outset of the pandemic in order to get as much support to as many people as possible, to target support for those who needed it most and to protect the taxpayer against error, fraud and abuse. The government understands that people across the UK, including those most impacted by the pandemic are worried about the rising cost of living. In May, we announced over £15 billion of additional cost of living support, targeted at those with the greatest need. As a result, millions of vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 of support this financial year, with the vast majority of households receiving at least £550. This built on the over £22 billion previously announced, meaning government support for the cost of living now totals over £37 billion this year, equivalent to 1.5% of GDP.

Cost of Living Payments: Energy

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the impact of the raising of the projected energy price cap on the efficacy of the cost of living payments.

Mr Simon Clarke: In May 2022, we announced over £15 billion of additional cost of living support, targeted at those with the greatest need. This package builds on over £22 billion previously announced, meaning government support for the cost of living now totals over £37 billion this year, equivalent to 1.5% of GDP. As a result, millions of vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 of support this financial year, with the vast majority of households receiving at least £550. We have always been clear that the government cannot seek to offset the entire impact of the increased cost of living for all groups. The government is committed to managing the public finances in a responsible way by targeting support where it is most needed, and we continue to monitor a range of factors, including the Ofgem price cap.  The government is monitoring a range of pressures on households, including the cost of energy, and as we move into winter we will continue to listen to people’s concerns and will seek to help households through challenging times ahead.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2022 to Question 36000 on Ukraine: Military Aid, from which Departments has the additional £1 billion of support to Ukraine been drawn from.

Mr Simon Clarke: All ministerial departments contributed from their 2022-23 capital budgets towards military aid for Ukraine. See full list below: Attorney General’s Office; Cabinet Office; Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport; Department for Education; Department for Environment Food, & Rural Affairs; Department for International Trade; Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Department for Transport; Department for Work and Pensions; Department of Health and Social Care; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; HM Treasury; Home Office; and Ministry of Justice; We also received contributions from the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Territorial Offices (the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Office).

Economic Situation: Weather

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the economic cost of the red weather heat alert of 18 and 19 July 2022.

Richard Fuller: We do not hold data on the specific cost of the red weather heat alert 18 – 19th July 2022. The ONS monthly estimate of GDP for July will become available on the 12th of September 2022. Information about the risks to different economic sectors from heatwaves more generally can be found in the UK’s Third Climate Change Risk Assessment which is based on the Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk, the statutory advice provided by the Climate Change Committee, commissioned by the UK Government and devolved administrations. The support the government has provided over the past two years has put the UK economy in a good position to deal with current challenges, with a record number of employees on payrolls and a strong economic recovery from the pandemic. Annual growth in 2021 was the fastest in the G7 and the latest GDP figures for June showed the UK economy was 0.9% above its pre-pandemic levels.

Debts: Ukraine

Luke Pollard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Ukraine owes to the UK in (a) public and (b) private debt.

Richard Fuller: Ukraine’s total debt stock to the UK government is £21.09 million as reported on the UK government website. UK private holdings of Ukrainian debt securities amounted to USD$1.43 billion in June 2021 according to the most recently available IMF data. This accounted for 5.5% of the total value of foreign-owned Ukrainian debt securities, as reported by IMF’s Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey. As bonds are tradable instruments, holders can fluctuate on a regular basis.

Taxation

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to regulate the use of deeds of assignment in taxation mandates by practitioner agents.

Lucy Frazer: The Government launched a consultation “Raising standards in tax advice: protecting customers claiming tax repayments” on 22 June 2022, which proposes measures to prohibit the assignment of tax repayments. This consultation forms part of the Government’s agenda to raise standards in the market for tax advice. It will close on 14 September 2022, after which the Government will set out how it will proceed.

Energy: Billing

Owen Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide any further support to people in arrears on fuel and electricity bills.

Alan Mak: The Government recognises that millions of households across the UK have been impacted by rising energy bills and the wider cost of living. That is why the Government is providing over £15 billion in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22 billion announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year. The package includes:£400 off GB energy bills from October through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS);A £650 Cost of Living Payment for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means tested benefits;A £150 one-off disability Cost of Living Payment for 6 million people who receive non-means tested disability benefits;An extra one-off £300 this year for over eight million pensioner households to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter;An extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund, for households that are not eligible for Cost of Living Payments or for families that still need additional support. The Government has also expanded and increased the Warm Home Discount. Three million vulnerable households will now receive £150 each year. The Government’s objective for the Warm Home Discount is to focus the support towards those on the lowest incomes and in, or at greatest risk, of fuel poverty. The Government expects and encourages energy suppliers to make it their priority to work actively to move customers with large arrears balances onto repayment plans wherever possible. This is already an Ofgem licence condition for suppliers. The Government is monitoring a range of pressures on households, including the cost of energy, and as we move into winter we will continue to listen to people’s concerns.

Treasury: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Alan Mak: HM Treasury’s spend on consultancy is published and available for viewing within the Annual Report and Accounts. We have included the links to the published Annual Report and Accounts for each of the available years in question within the table below. The amount paid, names & specific contract details of all contracts issued for consultancy can be found using the Gov.Uk contracts finder (link included below). Contract Finder - Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Financial YearPublication LinkPage Reference2017-18https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018Page 892018-19https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019Page 992019-20https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020Page 1042020-21https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021Page 1012021-22https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022Page 127

Sanctions: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the level of compliance with the UK's sanctions on Russian individuals and entities following the war in Ukraine within the UK property market.

Richard Fuller: The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) cannot comment on specific licensing or compliance cases. Financial sanctions apply to all assets owned, held or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a designated person including property assets. OFSI is responsible for implementing UK sanctions and takes its licensing and enforcement responsibilities very seriously, including in relation to property assets. Where a property is subject to an asset freeze it can only be dealt with under a licence issued by OFSI and any suspected breaches must be reported to OFSI and are investigated. Where appropriate, breaches of financial sanctions can result in the imposition of a civil monetary penalty.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if she will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Matt Warman: The Department has spent the following amount on external consultancy services in the past 5 financial years. Values include VAT that is non-recoverable, whilst VAT that is recoverable has been deducted accordingly. The values for FY21/22 are subject to change following audit and the final value will be published in the DCMS Annual Report and Accounts FY21/22. FY17/18FY18/19FY19/20FY20/21FY21/22*Consultancy£2,700,000.00£3,300,000.00£3,900,000.00£16,600,000.00£17,512,000.00Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Disinformation: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a taskforce to (a) identify, (b) catalogue and (c) act on Russian disinformation on the war in Ukraine on social media channels.

Damian Collins: Certain states routinely use disinformation as a foreign policy tool. The UK has a strong record of responding robustly to hostile state activity, in collaboration with our international partners, and we continue to take action in response to this form of malign influence.That is why the DCMS-led Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU) is working to identify and counter Russian disinformation targeted at UK and international audiences. We are working closely with the major social media platforms to encourage them to cooperate at speed to swiftly remove disinformation and coordinated inauthentic or manipulated behaviour, as per their Terms of Service. We also engage with platforms to understand policy changes and other countermeasures related to Russian information activities, and the effectiveness of these actions.This work aids HMG assessment bodies and the UK Government Information Cell, which brings together the government’s counter-disinformation expertise and capabilities to identify and counter Russian information aggression and disinformation targeted at UK and international audiences.We are also strengthening our new internet safety protections in the Online Safety Bill to make sure social media firms identify and root out state-backed disinformation. Along with the National Security Bill, it provides the legislative tools to ensure that service providers are forced to take proactive action against attempts by foreign actors to manipulate the online environment to interfere in our society and democracy.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to include content about age-restricted products including e-cigarettes in designation of content that is harmful to children in the Online Safety Bill.

Damian Collins: The strongest protections in the Online Safety Bill are for children. All services in scope will need to do far more to protect children from illegal content and activity, including illegal content about age-restricted products. Services will have to remove and limit the spread of illegal content and take steps to prevent similar material from appearing.Services likely to be accessed by children will also have to take steps to protect them from content and activity that falls below the criminal threshold but presents a significant risk of harm to children. The government will set out in secondary legislation categories of priority harmful content.For content to be designated as priority harmful content, it will have to meet the Bill’s threshold for harm and be content of a kind which presents a material risk of significant harm to an appreciable number of children or adults in the UK. On July 7 2022 the government published an indicative list of content that it considers reaches this threshold and is minded to designate as priority harmful content.This may not be an exhaustive list and we are continuing to engage extensively with stakeholders, parliamentarians and Ofcom ahead of designating the categories. In addition to the priority harms, companies will also be required to protect children from any other content and activity on their service which risks causing significant harm to an appreciable number of children.

Future of Compute Review: Public Appointments

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what process was used to appoint members of the expert panel that are leading the future of compute review.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether members of the expert panel that are leading the future of compute review are receiving remuneration.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the job description for the role of the expert panel member for the future of compute review.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when each member of the expert panel for the future of compute review was appointed.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who the expert panel for the future of compute review reports to.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many members there are of the expert panel for the future of compute review.

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether members of the expert panel in respect of the Future of compute review receive remuneration.

Damian Collins: The Future of Compute review was launched on 13 June 2022. It will produce recommendations on the UK’s compute capability over the next decade, and report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The terms of reference can be found on gov.uk, and outline the objectives, outputs and themes that will be covered by the review.Zoubin Ghahramani, Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Cambridge and Vice President of Research at Google, was appointed to lead the review. Professor Ghahramani was selected because of his strong credentials in both the applications and fundamentals of computer science, and experience of working in public and private sector capacities.The lead reviewer will be supported by a panel of experts from across the computing field. These experts will help provide high level oversight and quality assurance of the evidence supporting the final recommendations, similar to the approach taken for previous reviews. Experts were selected to ensure broad expertise in compute applications, including simulation and modelling, and across diverse sections of industry and research communities.The panellists are:Professor Anne Trefethen FREng, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor of Scientific Computing, University of Oxford.Dr Graham Spittle, CBE, Dean of Innovation at Edinburgh University.Shaheen Sayed, Senior Managing Director, Technology Lead, Accenture UK and Ireland.Sue Daley, Director of Technology & Innovation, TechUK.The lead reviewer and panel members will not receive remuneration.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Matt Warman: The Department has spent the following on both agency workers and agency retainer fees through contracts in the past 3 calendar years. Values are exclusive of VAT. 202020212022*Agency Worker£8,403,206.79£8,428,918.79£4,269,004.52Agency Retainer Fee£0£0£0*These figures are taken from 1 January 2022 - 24 August 2022 (to date). The Department engages contingent labour through Crown Commercial Services Framework’s RM3749, ‘Public Sector Resourcing’ and RM6160, ‘Non Clinical and Temporary Fixed Term Staff’.

Cultural Heritage: Ukraine

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with her Ukrainian counterpart on providing support for the cataloguing of Ukrainian cultural artefacts which have been damaged or lost during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with representatives of UK cultural bodies on the potential support they can give their Ukrainian counterparts to help protect Ukrainian cultural heritage during the Russian invasion of that country.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing dedicated financial support programs for cultural activities undertaken by Ukrainian refugees to protect Ukrainian cultural heritage.

Nigel Huddleston: Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, DCMS Ministers and officials have been in regular contact with their Ukrainian counterparts, international partners and UK cultural institutions regarding the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage. The UK is currently providing financial support through DCMS’s flagship Cultural Protection Fund, a partnership with the British Council. This covers among other activities the documentation of damage to cultural heritage, safeguarding Ukraine’s cultural heritage in-situ, and supporting Ukrainian artists and cultural practitioners.DCMS officials are also working across Government to ensure that cultural heritage protection is integrated into all relevant apparatus around war crimes. Officials are examining how to support baseline evidence collection on cultural heritage destruction in Ukraine, as well as developing longer-term approaches.

Sports Competitors: Ukraine

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of offering the Ukrainian Government funding for the use of training facilities in the UK by Ukrainian athletes.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK has helped to build and lead the international response in this area, including two collective statements signed by 35 or more like-minded nations on Russia’s war on Ukraine and international sport.The UK Government has been proud to facilitate support provided on a sport-to-sport basis between governing bodies in the UK and Ukraine, including in taekwondo, fencing and football. We continue to encourage our Ukrainian counterparts to inform us of where assistance is needed.

Swimming Pools

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to help ensure that every community has access to a (a) swimming pool and (b) safe outdoor swimming area.

Nigel Huddleston: We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities, including swimming pools, which are great spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.Sport England has invested £9,564,322 in swimming and diving projects since April 2019, which includes £6,260,502 to Swim England. This is in addition to the £100 million National Leisure Recovery Fund, which supported the reopening of local authority swimming pools throughout the country after the pandemic.Regarding outdoor swimming, bathing waters are designated through an application process and Defra welcomes applications for designation for both coastal and inland waters such as rivers.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to safe places to swim, both in swimming pools and outdoors, lies at Local Authority level, and the government continues to encourage Local Authorities to invest in leisure facilities.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date following the publication in September 2015 of theHolocaust Memorial Foundation briefing entitled Search for a Central London site did their Department become aware of the plan to site the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Nigel Huddleston: UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation member Lord Andrew Feldman wrote to the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon John Whittingdale, on 26 October 2015 proposing that the Holocaust Memorial be located in Victoria Tower Gardens.Following investigations into the feasibility of this site, the Foundation recommended Victoria Tower Gardens to the Government in January 2016 as the best choice of site. The then Prime Minister accepted this recommendation and announced Victoria Tower Gardens as the chosen site on Holocaust Memorial Day 2016.

Local History

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the (a) feasibility and (b) potential merits of recording a value for the social history of an area as would be done for a physical asset.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on steps that can be taken to preserve social history through the planning process.

Nigel Huddleston: Local planning authorities already have a statutory duty to identify parts of their area that they deem to be of special architectural or historic interest (the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance) and to designate these areas as Conservation Areas. In this context, the value of an area’s social history may be recognised as part of its claims to special historic interest.Local planning authorities also have the opportunity to identify parts of their area considered to possess local historic interest through the compilation of a local heritage list.In both cases, the recognition of such areas is reflected in policies set out in the National Planning Policy Framework relating to conservation and enhancement of the historic environment. I can confirm that my Department works closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that the value of national and local heritage continues to be recognised in the planning process, and to ensure that this process complements the statutory heritage protection system.

Broadband: Misrepresentation

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment the potential impact of the mis-selling of fibre broadband products on consumers; and if she will make a statement.

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact for consumers of copper and cable products being sold as fibre products.

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make representations to Ofcom on the potential impacts of the mis-selling of fibre products on consumers; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Warman: In 2017, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's regulator of advertising, reviewed consumer understanding of the term ‘fibre’ as used in broadband advertising (particularly for part-fibre services such as Fibre to the Cabinet) and any impact the use of this term has on consumers’ transactional decisions. The ASA engaged with stakeholders and received a range of responses from providers of part-fibre and full-fibre broadband services, consumer organisations and other regulators.The ASA published their findings in November 2017 and concluded by stating the following:“It is not possible to conclude that the word ‘fibre’, as currently used in part-fibre advertising, is likely to mislead and misinform consumers.”Both the ASA and Ofcom are independent regulators and such matters relating to industry rules on advertising and broadband speed claims are a matter for their discretion.

Musicians: EU Countries

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have met representatives of the music industry to discuss the ability of musicians to tour in Europe following the UK’s departure from the EU since January 2022.

Matt Warman: The Government is committed to supporting the creative sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.Ministers and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) regularly engage with the music sector, including on the important issue of touring. This engagement includes the DCMS-led touring group, which last met in June 2022, with attendance from the former DCMS Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, officials from across government and devolved authorities, and representatives of the creative and cultural sectors. I have met with representatives of the music sector to discuss a variety of issues including touring.

Television Licences: Older People

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the cost of TV licenses for elderly people during the cost of living crisis.

Matt Warman: The global cost of living is rising and this Government is committed to supporting households as much as possible during these difficult times. When setting the level of the licence fee earlier this year, the Government had to think very carefully about the impact that any increase would have on households.Therefore, on 17 January, the Secretary of State announced that the licence fee will be frozen at £159 until April 2024, before rising with inflation until April 2028. This settlement aims to support all households at a time when they need that support the most.The Government remains deeply disappointed with the BBC's decision to restrict the over 75 licence fee concession to only those in receipt of Pension Credit. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC. The BBC must look at how it uses its substantial licence fee income to support older people.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what steps he is taking to ensure that the revised report (a) closes the measured shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet CB6 and (b) provides the necessary information explaining how policies will credibly deliver those emissions reductions.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what steps his Department is taking to produce a report which is (a) compliant with section 14 of the Climate Change Act 2008 and (b) includes a quantified account of the emissions reductions that the policies in the Net Zero Strategy will deliver.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgment of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, what his Department’s timeframe is for laying the required report before Parliament.

Greg Hands: As was made clear in the court hearing, there is no shortfall in emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. Under the international standard accounting methodology adopted at COP26, shortly after the Strategy’s publication, the quantified policies were projected to deliver over 100% of the emissions reductions needed to meet the sixth carbon budget. The order accompanying the judgment states that the Government must lay a report before Parliament by no later than 31 March 2023. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the judgement of the hon. Mr Justice Holgate in the case Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth, Good Law Project vs. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy handed down on 18 July 2022, for what reason the Energy Minister approved the Government’s Net Zero Strategy without the necessary information on how it would meet the carbon budgets as required under section 13 of the Climate Change Act 2008.

Greg Hands: Information on how the policies and proposals will meet the carbon budgets was provided when the publication of the Net Zero Strategy was approved. It was the consideration of Mr Justice Holgate that the policy-by-policy quantification carried out by officials ought to have been before Ministers, rather than the same information aggregated at the sector level. Ministers considered that the combination of the analysis provided and the additional detail summarised by Departmental officials gave sufficient confidence that the policies and proposals would enable the carbon budgets to be met. The Government is seeking permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal the judgment.

Small Businesses: Energy

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government policy in reducing energy costs for SMEs in the context of the recent rise in energy costs.

Greg Hands: The Government recognises the impact rising energy costs is having on small businesses. Extensive engagement continues across government at both ministerial and official level on this situation to understand, and to help mitigate the impacts of, high global energy prices. The Government’s priority is to ensure costs are managed and energy supplies maintained.

Energy Bills Rebate

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of how much will be provided in cost of living energy support for third and second homes.

Greg Hands: The Government estimates around 545,000 second homes in Great Britain, which make up around 2% of the UK’s housing stock. If all of these homes were eligible for the Energy Bills Support Scheme grant, this could contribute a maximum estimate of £218million towards the cost of the scheme. The Government is prioritising issuing the money to 29 million households by winter 2022. Accurately identifying second homeowners would delay the delivery of the scheme. Additionally, some second homes will be held in circumstances where the recipient may need cost of living support, such as providing a home for an elderly or disabled relative.

Hydroelectric Power

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of a revenue cap and floor mechanism for Pumped Storage Hydropower facilities on levels of (a) long-term revenue certainty for Pumped Storage Hydropower and (b) private investment into the Pumped Storage Hydropower market.

Greg Hands: As part of the Government’s British Energy Security Strategy commitments, the Government is considering different policy options, such as cap and floor or an optimised Capacity Market, to enable investment for large-scale, long-duration electricity storage technologies, which includes pumped hydro storage. This will complement the evidence gathered during the recent call for evidence and external analysis on these technologies.

Private Rented Housing: Electricity

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will conduct an outreach and public information campaign to encourage landlords with a domestic electricity connection who charge all-inclusive rent to pass on the discount to their tenants.

Greg Hands: Landlords with a domestic electricity connection who charge ‘all inclusive’ rent with no specified charge for gas or electricity should be passing on the discounted payments to tenants. Landlords who resell the electricity to their tenants based on energy usage must comply with Ofgem’s ‘maximum resale price’ rules. Ofgem’s guidance is available here. The Government is working with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to enlist the support of key stakeholder groups in the private rented sector to help communicate this information.

Companies: Location

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken in response to the closure of the Corporate re-domiciliation consultation.

Jane Hunt: The Government published a summary of responses to the consultation on 12 April 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/corporate-re-domiciliation). As set out in the response, it is the Government’s intention to introduce a UK corporate re-domiciliation regime, consulting further as appropriate.

Small Business Commissioner

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Office of the Small Business Commissioner team has recouped in late payments since December 2017.

Jane Hunt: Since December 2017, the Office of the Small Business Commissioner has recovered over £8 million owed to small businesses.

Lamp Insurance Company: Insolvency

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the liquidation of the Lamp Insurance Company Limited, if he will make an estimate of the value of the assets and liabilities of the Lamp Insurance Company Limited when it entered liquidation; and for what reason that company's liabilities were not assigned to an acquiring company.

Jane Hunt: The Official Receiver in Gibraltar is liquidator of Lamp Insurance Company Limited. Their preliminary report of 25 July 2019, available at www.lampinsurance.com detailed the company’s assets and liabilities. The treatment of a company’s assets and liabilities is a matter for Gibraltarian insolvency law and the decisions of the liquidator.

Insolvency

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the case of the Lamp Insurance Company Limited, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the steps required of (a) liquidators and (b) regulatory bodies in (i) Gibraltar and (ii) the UK to ensure that (A) creditors and (B) consumers are protected when a company goes into liquidation.

Jane Hunt: LAMP Insurance Company Limited is a Gibraltar-incorporated and registered company which was authorised and regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. The company was placed into liquidation in Gibraltar on 31 May 2019 in accordance with the Gibraltar Insolvency Act 2011. The UK Government has no involvement in the legal or regulatory functions of the authorities in Gibraltar. LAMP Insurance Company Limited also operated in the UK and was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. In the event that an authorised insurer fails operating in the UK or Gibraltar, there are consumer protections in place. Eligible policyholders can seek compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and refer claims disputes to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Creditors of the company who are not policyholders can lodge their claims and obtain further information via the Liquidator’s appointed agents, Grant Thornton Limited, who can be contacted by email at lampinsurance@gi.gt.com.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the Global Fund on global health outcomes.

Amanda Milling: The Global Fund is a high performing organisation that, with partners, has reduced the mortality of AIDS, TB and malaria by 46% since 2002 and plays a key role in ending the preventable deaths of the three diseases, saving 44 million lives to date.The UK is proud to be the organisation's third largest donor historically, investing over £4.1 billion since 2002.The UK's significant investments in the Global Fund is our main channel to support ending the three epidemics. The organisation remains a key partner in strengthening health systems and supporting pandemic preparedness.

Iran: Guided Weapons

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

Amanda Milling: Iran continues to develop its ballistic missile programme, which is destabilising for the region and poses a threat to European security. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (UNSCR 2231), which was unanimously adopted in the Security Council and underpins the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), calls on Iran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. Alongside France and Germany, we have written regularly to the UN Secretary-General, most recently on 24 May, to draw attention to Iranian missile activity inconsistent with UNSCR 2231 and raised this at the UN Security Council on 30 June. We urge Iran to fully abide by UNSCR 2231 and all other relevant resolutions.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Amanda Milling: The FCDO spend on agency staff is contained in the published FCDO Annual Report and Accounts:Financial Year2019-202020-212021-22Temporary Staff Costs£12,086,112£25,679,267£39,575,855The figures provided are inclusive of both the cost of the contingent labourer and the agency fee for provision of their services.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Simon Fell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of reports that Russia is to receive Iranian made drones for its invasion of Ukraine.

Graham Stuart: Reports that Russia is buying drones from Iran illustrates that UK efforts with allies to isolate Moscow internationally and cripple its military are having an impact. Russia is struggling to source some vital military parts. We saw overwhelming opposition to Russia's behaviour at both the G7 and NATO Summits in May and the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting in July. The UK is committed to working with allies to isolate Russia further, including through the use of sanctions. The reports also highlight Iran's continuing threat to international security and stability. We will continue to hold Iran to account for its destabilising activities.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if she will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Amanda Milling: Spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the core Department in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.FCDO2021/22FCDO2020/21FCO + DFID 2019/20FCO + DFID 2018/19FCO + DFID 2017/18£5.7 million£2.7 million£3 million£2.6 million£1.3 millionDetails of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Semiconductors: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if officials in her Department will hold discussions with representatives of UK semi-conductor manufacturers on (a) monitoring and cataloguing reports of UK semi-conductor usage within materials used by Russian military forces during the conflict in Ukraine, (b) ensuring all reports of UK semi-conductors in such materials are fully investigated and (c) halting the supply of semi-conductors to manufacturers where their products are used by Russian military forces for the invasion of Ukraine.

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has had recent discussions with representatives of semiconductor manufacturers on preventing products used in domestic appliances that can also be used in defence materials from entering Russian supply chains.

Graham Stuart: The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor chips to underpin military capabilities. The UK Government has laid legislation to ban the export to Russia of goods and technology, including semiconductors, that are critical to Russia's military-industrial complex.Sanctions on Russia imposed by the UK and its international partners are already having deep and damaging consequences for Putin's ability to wage war. The Government is implementing its new controls through the UK's export control regime and is continuing to monitor the impact of these sanctions as the conflict progresses.

South Sudan: Armed Conflict and 
Sexual Offences

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) end conflict-related sexual violence in South Sudan, (b) promote meaningful accountability for conflict-related sexual violence in that country and (c) support health services for victims of conflict-related sexual violence in that country.

Vicky Ford: The UK continues to call on the South Sudanese authorities to hold perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) to account, end impunity and take additional measures to protect civilians. In November 2021 the UK launched a Call to Action to protect Children Born of Sexual Violence, which South Sudan formally endorsed. In South Sudan we fund a Gender Adviser who works within the ceasefire monitoring mechanism to advise on prevention and reporting of CRSV. We have also funded the establishment of mobile gender-based violence (GBV) courts in two states and provided support to strengthen the GBV court in Juba. At the UN we lobbied to ensure a military action plan on CRSV was included as a benchmark that would need to be met should the UN consider lifting of the arms embargo.Through our humanitarian programme, the UK fund work to raise awareness of GBV and improve safety for women in their communities. We provide case management, socio-economic, psychosocial and legal support, and referrals to health and protection services. We also support access and the provision of health services to sexual and GBV survivors through the Health Pooled Fund, managing 4,234 cases between April 2021-March 2022 and providing GBV services training for staff in 637 health facilities. In November, the UK will host an ambitious international conference to mark 10 years since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, galvanising further international action to tackle CRSV.

Ethiopia: Internally Displaced People

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the levels of exposure to (a) protection and (b) health risks experienced by newly internally displaced people in Ethiopia.

Vicky Ford: UK aid is supporting improvements to the whole Ethiopian health system. In areas affected by conflict and crises, temporary and mobile clinics are being used to reach displaced populations. The Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme is expanding access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in 17 countries across Africa, including Ethiopia. WISH works in Northern Ethiopia (Afar, Amhara and Tigray) to support sexual and reproductive health services.

South Sudan: Oil Pollution

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of oil pollution in South Sudan on the health of (a) humans and (b) animals in that country.

Vicky Ford: We are aware of reports of oil pollution in South Sudan, particularly in Paloich, Melut County and some parts of the Ruweng Administrative Area, where oil leaks have been exacerbated by flooding. The Sudd Institute have reported complaints by communities regarding the high prevalence of petroleum pollution, allegedly causing disease and reproductive health issues, including birth defects, infertility, stillbirth, and miscarriages. We have raised environmental concerns with the petroleum industry as part of wider discussions with the South Sudanese Ministry of Petroleum. We work in close coordination with development partners and civil activists who have been calling on the South Sudanese Government to conduct an environmental audit on oil pollution.

South Sudan: Oil Pollution

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in South Sudan on oil pollution in that region.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government continuously monitors political, economic and environmental developments in South Sudan, including oil production and pollution. UK Government officials have raised environmental concerns with the petroleum industry as part of our wider discussions with the South Sudanese Ministry of Petroleum. We work in close coordination with development partners and civil activists who have been calling on the South Sudanese Government to conduct an environmental audit of oil pollution.More broadly, we are committed to the protection of natural wealth in South Sudan, including through funding projects for wildlife conservation, poverty reduction and building community resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Mozambique: Mining

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the steps that can be taken by (a) Gemfields and (b) other UK headquartered companies operating in Mozambique for the purposes of ensuring the safety of workers working at mines in that region.

Vicky Ford: We are concerned by the threat posed by IS-affiliated groups in northern Mozambique and regularly discuss the security situation with Gemfields and other UK headquartered companies operating in Mozambique. We are working in partnership with the Government of Mozambique, the private sector and international partners, to address the drivers of the conflict and build resilience to violent extremism. We are also working with the government, private sector and civil society to support implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, to promote a community-focused approach to security and increase operational stability around mining and other major extractive projects in Mozambique.

Colombia: Homicide

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Colombian counterparts about the security of former FARC combatants based at the Agua Bonita reincorporation zone in Caquetá following reports that two individuals were killed on 6 and 12 July 2022.

Vicky Ford: Colombia is a UK Human Rights Priority Country and UK ministers and senior officials regularly discuss security issues with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora. Most recently, our Permanent Representative at the United Nations raised the need to ensure security for vulnerable communities affected by violence, displacement and confinement at the UN Security Council on 14 July. The UN Security Council subsequently agreed a UK-drafted press statement stressing concerns regarding the persistent threats, attacks and killings targeting former FARC combatants.Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, which has provided £69 million in support of Peace Agreement implementation, security and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to support programmes that help to protect former FARC combatants and other groups affected by violence, including in areas such as Caquetá.

Development Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the results and recommendations of the 2022 Aid Transparency Index; and is she will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: The Aid Transparency Index takes place every two years and this is the first review since DFID and FCO merged. FCDO ranked as the 4th highest performing bilateral donor and was classed as "good". We are examining the findings of the review to help improve our rating in future assessments. Transparency helps improve accountability, efficiency and effectiveness and FCDO remains committed to transparency in its official development assistance spend and continues to publish programme information so that parliament and the public can see how we are delivering our aid objectives across the world.The UK has committed to the further strengthening of aid transparency in the UK's Open Government Partnership National Action Plan, with a specific commitment added when it was updated in August 2022.

Nigeria: Security

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) security situation in Nigeria and (b) impact of that situation on the region.

Vicky Ford: I am grateful to the Honourable Member for securing a debate on this important issue in Westminster Hall on 19 July. As set out in my intervention, Nigeria faces multiple complex security challenges including terrorism, violent criminality and intercommunal conflict. Insecurity in Nigeria has a devastating impact on affected communities and the effects of this are felt in the wider region.The UK government works to support the Nigerian Government in carrying out its responsibility to provide security for the Nigerian people, including through our Security and Defence Partnership and efforts to support conflict prevention, peacebuilding and protection of human rights. During my visit to Nigeria in February, I raised rising insecurity and its impact on the Nigerian people in meetings with the Vice President, Foreign Minister and several State Governors. The Prime Minister also discussed insecurity with President Buhari at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in June. We are taking a coordinated and regional approach to supporting Nigeria and its neighbours, including working with international partners, to address the causes and effects of insecurity.We continue to urge and support the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence. We will also continue to work with international partners to monitor the impacts of conflict and insecurity in Nigeria on neighbouring countries and the wider region.

International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the statement agreed at the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief entitled statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, published on 5 July 2022, for what reason the statement was updated on 7 July to remove references to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and will continue working with other countries to protect gender equality in international agreements. In our capacity as Chair of the event, we amended the statement we made at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference to make the final statement more inclusive of all perspectives and views to allow for a constructive exchange of views on all issues. The UK continues to fund support and lead on issues of gender including on SRHR, through initiatives related to Women, Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Mozambique: Gas Fired Power Stations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on Mozambique’s debt situation of the long-term power purchase agreement between (a) the Central Térmica de Temane gas project funded by British International Investment and (b) the state energy supplied EDM; and if she will publish the details of this agreement.

Amanda Milling: The Temane gas project is a project developed and invested in by Globeleq, an experienced developer of power projects across Africa, of which British International Investment is the majority shareholder. Globeleq has a fully constituted board, an Environmental, Social and Governance committee and investment committee which examine the risks and impacts of any projects.Prior to investing in Temane, Globeleq undertook due diligence and an evaluation of the commercial terms negotiated and agreed with the state-owned company 'Source Energia and Electricidade de Moçambique' (EDM). The power purchase agreement signed between Globeleq as the project company and EDM is commercially sensitive.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Finance

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2022 to Question 9016 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Finance, for what reason the 2021-22 Annual Report and Accounts did not contain a breakdown of Official Development Assistance budget allocations for the financial year 2022-23.

Vicky Ford: Initial allocations for financial year 2022-23 have been set internally to deliver the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy and the Integrated Review, based on the FCDO's Spending Review 2021 settlement. Given the government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider ODA pressures including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the FCDO and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit those allocations to ensure all ODA eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of GNI this calendar year.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Finance

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2022 to Question 9016 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Finance, when her Department plans to publish the Official Development Assistance budget allocations for the financial year 2022-23.

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2022 to Question 9016 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Finance, if she will provide a breakdown of the Official Development Assistance budget allocations for the financial year 2022-23.

Vicky Ford: We remain committed to transparency and will provide updates to spending plans in due course.

Mozambique: Gas Fired Power Stations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the answer from the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary to written question 33299 on 19 July 2021, if she will publish British International Investment’s assessment explaining why the Central Térmica de Temane gas project is fully aligned with the grounds for exemption from the policy to not support the fossil fuel energy sector overseas.

Amanda Milling: Temane is central to Mozambique's energy transition. The investment meets the conditions for Paris-aligned gas power as per the Government's fossil fuel policy and has been assessed using BII's gas guidance which is consistent with those conditions.The Temane project cannot viably be replaced by renewable energy sources at present. It includes flexible technological operating configuration and the interconnecting transmission line allows for greater penetration of intermittent renewables across Mozambique's grids over time. In addition, Temane is technologically capable - from day one - to transition to green hydrogen fuel when that becomes available.BII does not publish individual assessments because of commercially sensitive information. Information on the assessment including specific criteria is available here: https://www.bii.co.uk/en/news-insight/news/announcing-our-new-fossil-fuel-policy-and-guidance-on-natural-gas-power-plants/.

Development Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much has been allocated to the ODA crisis reserve for 2022-23; what proportion of that reserve has been spent up to and including 19 July 2022; and if she will provide a breakdown of what ODA crisis reserve funding has been spent in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

Amanda Milling: A total of £30 million has been allocated to the ODA crisis reserve for 2022-23. None of the reserve has been spent to date this financial year. In 2021-22, the ODA crisis reserve funding was spent on responding to: the volcano eruption on St Vincent (£0.7m), Typhoon Rai in the Philippines (£1m), the earthquake in Haiti (£1m) and crises in Tigray (£6m), Somalia (£8m), South Sudan (£3m), Kenya (£1m), Mozambique (£0.8m), the Occupied Palestinian Territories (£3m), and Ukraine (£5.6m).

Turkey: Kurds

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the (a) death toll and (b) casualty rate of Turkey’s military action in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Operation Claw Lock; what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on the compatibility of that operation with international law; whether the Government opposes that operation; and what representations she has made to the Turkish government on that operation.

Amanda Milling: We are following closely the situation in northern Iraq, including monitoring Turkey's Operation Claw Lock. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers and senior officials regularly reiterate to all parties the need for dialogue and cooperation between Turkey and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. Our diplomatic missions are in regular contact with Turkish and Iraqi authorities over these issues and continue to urge restraint and the protection of civilians.

Israel: Lebanon

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of security threats facing Israel from Lebanon.

Amanda Milling: Our commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Israel is an important strategic partner for the UK and we collaborate closely on issues of defence and security. The Government condemns Hizballah's destabilising activity in the region, including their stockpiling of weapons in Lebanon, which is a breach of UNSCRs 1559 and 1701. The Foreign Secretary discussed the security situation in Lebanon with Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid on 22 June and I reiterated UK commitment to Israel's security in my meeting with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll during my visit to Israel in June.

Israel: Saudi Arabia

Miriam Cates: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to progress Israel-Saudi Arabia normalisation talks.

Amanda Milling: The UK is committed to working with Arab and Israeli partners to help deliver shared prosperity and regional security. The Foreign Secretary made clear her commitment to the Abraham Accords at both the UK-Israel Strategic Dialogue on 29 November 2021, and subsequently at the Gulf Cooperation Council-United Kingdom Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 20 December 2021. The UK is working with regional partners to ensure the Abraham Accords are an enduring success, and continue to encourage other countries who have not yet normalised to do so. I discussed this point with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll during my visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in June 2022.

Development Aid

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department conducted impact assessments in advance of the sign-off and publication of the International Development Strategy.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what impact assessments her Department conducted in advance of the sign off and publication of the International Development Strategy; and if she will publish those assessments.

Amanda Milling: We are confident that funding decisions reflect the priorities in the International Development Strategy, including putting women and girls at the heart of what we do. Assessments of the impact on different beneficiary groups are ongoing, including through the upcoming business planning process. The Foreign Secretary was clear with Parliament during Oral Questions on 8 March 2022 that Equality Impact Assessments will not be published, due to the need to protect the space for officials to provide frank advice to ministers.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of Iran’s ongoing support for President Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Amanda Milling: The UK opposes any state providing material or diplomatic support for Russia's unprovoked, illegal and brutal war in Ukraine. We continue to stand with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, including through providing £2.3 billion of military support.Reports that Russia intends to buy drones from Iran corroborate our assessment that, 6 months after Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia is struggling militarily and is isolated internationally. The UK is committed to working with the international community to hold Iran to account for its destabilising activity.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Miriam Cates: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the joint US-Israel declaration on preventing Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.

Amanda Milling: We note the US and Israel adopted the Jerusalem Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration in July 2022. The UK's long-standing objective is that Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.There has been a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments, and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

Iran: Nuclear Weapons

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of comments by Iranian official Kamal Kharrazi that that country has the technical ability to build a nuclear bomb.

Amanda Milling: Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.There has been a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

Shipping: Strait of Hormuz

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help safeguard international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Amanda Milling: The UK is committed to ensuring the safety of shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including through our contribution to the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC). The IMSC provides an immediate response to the heightened threat in the Persian Gulf by providing reassurance to commercial shipping and deterring further threats.We share the aim with allies of reassuring the shipping industry; we are committed to the important principle of freedom of navigation and will ensure that it is upheld.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of Iran's nuclear activities during negotiations over a renewed nuclear deal.

Amanda Milling: Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.There has been is a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has so far refused to conclude the deal and continued its nuclear escalation. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Voluntary National Review of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, published in June 2019, what progress her Department has made in establishing a multi-stakeholder engagement mechanism to monitor progress towards those goals.

Vicky Ford: The International Development Strategy and Integrated Review reaffirm the UK's commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.We are committed to working collaboratively with partners on the SDGs. It is only through partnership and cross-sector collaboration that we can achieve the SDGs.We continue to engage regularly with civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders on the SDGs, including through bodies such as BOND and the UN Global Compact.

International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, whether her Department carried out a public consultation prior to removing reference to reproductive healthcare from the statement.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, what (a) meetings, (b) discussions or (c) correspondence she had with Ministerial colleagues on the decision to remove reference to reproductive healthcare from the statement.

Vicky Ford: The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and will continue working with other countries to protect gender equality in international agreements. In our capacity as Chair of the event, we amended the statement we made at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference to make the final statement more inclusive of all perspectives and views to allow for a constructive exchange of views on all issues. The UK continues to fund support and lead on issues of gender including on SRHR, through initiatives related to Women, Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Iran: Espionage and Terrorism

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made assessment of the implications for her policies of the risk of Iran being engaged in espionage and terrorism in the UK through its embassy, intelligence operatives and diplomats.

Amanda Milling: We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats. The safety and security of our citizens is the Government's top priority. As we made clear in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference the report by Bond entitled the UK’s global contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, published 19 July 2022, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the recommendations in that report; and if she will make a statement.

Vicky Ford: The International Development Strategy and Integrated Review reaffirm the UK's commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.We have demonstrated leadership on the SDGs as one of the largest donors to the international response tackling COVID-19, and through our G7 and COP Presidencies.We welcome the recommendations from Bond's report and are grateful for their thorough analysis. We will continue to work with them closely on how we can best work together to achieve the SDGs.

East Africa: Food Supply

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with UK based NGOs on their response to food shortages in East Africa.

Vicky Ford: I met with both the Secretariat and members of the Disasters Emergency Committee on 22 July and 22 June respectively to discuss the crisis in East Africa. We will continue to have further discussions with NGOs on wider humanitarian requirements in East Africa and will build upon the productive and regular engagement that has been undertaken thus far.

Ethiopia: Dams

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she plans to take to help support an equitable solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of plans for use of the Dam on the efficacy of drought responses in (a) Nile and (b) Blue Nile riparian states.

Vicky Ford: The UK continues to urge all parties involved in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan - to come to an agreement on the filling and operation of the dam. We urge the three sides to resolve outstanding technical issues and look forward to the African Union (AU) helping to find an agreement which ensures that water resources are managed in a way that ensures their long-term sustainable use for all parties.We continue to speak to all three Governments through our Embassies in those countries and regularly engage the US and EU observers to the earlier AU-led process, including through the UK Special Envoy for the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. It is a matter for the Nile River Riparian States to agree on fair and equitable use of Nile Waters.

Africa: Food Supply

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how the G7 pledge of $4.5 billion to fight global hunger will support the immediate needs of people in the Horn of Africa, Sudan, South Sudan and the Sahel.

Vicky Ford: Famine prevention is a key priority for the FCDO. The UK played a leading role in the famine prevention global call to action launched in 2020 as well as the G7 famine prevention and humanitarian crises compact. With G7 allies, and in support of the UN Global Crises Response Group, we agreed to address the causes and consequences of the global food crisis through a Global Alliance for Food Security, a joint initiative which will be launched by G7 Development Ministers.The UK will work closely with these organisations including through our network of country-based advisors to ensure that this money is used effectively and that allocations are made accordingly to need, including in the Horn, Sudan, South Sudan and the Sahel.

Ethiopia: Peace Negotiations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the progress of peace talks in Ethiopia.

Vicky Ford: The breakdown of peace talks and return to conflict between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the Ethiopian Government is catastrophic for the people of Ethiopia. It risks tens of thousands of deaths - both directly through fighting and indirectly through a further deepening of the already dire humanitarian situation. It will achieve nothing - 22 months since fighting began, it is self-evident that there is no military solution to the conflict.The only way to resolve this conflict is to reinstate the cessation of hostilities and immediately begin political negotiations. The UK urges Tigrayan troops to return to Tigray, the Ethiopian Government to restore services to Tigray and both parties to begin direct talks. Our Embassy in Addis Ababa is engaging with all parties to the conflict to deliver these messages.

Africa: Food Supply

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take diplomatic steps to encourage (a) donor governments and (b) private sector partners to scale up the global response to the hunger crisis in Africa.

Vicky Ford: The UK is pressing for an urgent collective response to food insecurity in Africa, building on the first G7 Famine Prevention Compact agreed during the UK's presidency in 2021. In April, the UK helped bring states together at a UN drought roundtable which mobilised roughly $400 million in new commitments for the East Africa region. The Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food, Victoria Prentis and I attended the G7 leaders meeting in June where participants pledged an additional $4.5 billion of support, including a UK commitment of £372 million. We continue to support the G7 Global Alliance on Food Security and the UN Global Crisis Response Group to mobilise support from other donor governments.I have written to the World Bank President and the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator to encourage them to do more. The UN has confirmed a scale-up of efforts in Somalia and Ethiopia. The Multilateral Development Banks, including the World Bank and Africa Development Bank, have in total announced more than $35 billion of funding. The Banks are rapidly approving projects, totalling $24 billion at the World Bank and $1.1 billion at the African Development Bank, directly supporting vulnerable households and farmers and supporting a shift towards more resilient agriculture.

South Africa: Maternal Mortality

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the maternal mortality rate in South Africa.

Vicky Ford: The UK does not provide direct support to help reduce maternal mortality in South Africa. The UK has, however, provided £7.5 million since 2020 to support health system strengthening including through knowledge exchange between health experts in both countries. This is helping South Africa to put in place the building blocks to achieve its goal of universal access to good quality healthcare and to reduce morbidity and mortality rates.

Ministry of Defence

Future Combat Air System: Job Creation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created by the Generation Tempest initiative; and where he expects those jobs to be based in the UK.

Jeremy Quin: I refer the Right Hon. Gentleman to the Written Ministerial update provided by the Secretary of State for Defence on the 19 July, entitled Combat Air Strategy Update. This offers an overview of the wider benefits to the UK of Combat Air and FCAS in particular, on issues including employment and skills generation.Combat Air Strategy (docx, 22.4KB)

Ukraine: Military Aid

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Ukrainian counterpart on providing winter combat training to Ukrainian armed forces.

James Heappey: The UK Ministry of Defence and Ukrainian ministers have discussed the requirements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to fight through the winter. The UK and other allies are working to train and equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces for this requirement.

Hybrid Warfare: Space Technology

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of hybrid space warfare on UK infrastructure.

James Heappey: The Defence Space Strategy, published on 1 February 2022 and available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-space-strategy-operationalising-the-space-domain, contains a recent assessment of the range of threats to space systems. Responsibility for assessing the impact of disruptions on UK infrastructure, including space-based disruptions, sits with the owners of the infrastructure and the responsible lead Government departments. Defence feeds into cross-Government risk reporting through the National Security Risk. Assessment process, led by Cabinet Office, assesses the most serious risks facing the UK and includes impacts on UK infrastructure.

Typhoon Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the upper weight limit is for (a) qualified pilots and (b) other people occupying seats in RAF Typhoon aircraft.

Jeremy Quin: The maximum boarding mass for an individual and their equipment on a Typhoon is 133.5kg.

Future Combat Air System: International Cooperation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has held discussions with international counterparts on collaborating on the UK's Future Combat Air System.

Jeremy Quin: The UK is now conducting joint concept analysis with Italy and Japan to understand areas of shared interests and to explore potential Future Combat Air partnership options. We and our partners intend to make further decisions on this by the end of 2022. We also share an open dialogue with Sweden, to support respective programme development and explore opportunities for cooperation. More broadly, we will continue to explore working with other allies and strategic partners on Future Combat Air.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the changes to policy from the Zero Tolerance to Unacceptable Sexual Behaviour policy, Zero Tolerance approach to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse policy and Strategy for Tackling Sexual Offending in Defence, whether (a) specialist support services and (b) sexual violence experts will be put in place to support (i) victims coming forward and (ii) defence agencies in managing cases of sexual violence.

Leo Docherty: Commanding Officers have a legal obligation to report alleged sexual violence to the Service Police who are trained to investigate cases of sexual violence to the same standards as the civilian police. All three Services' Police have a sexual violence lead ​who advise on policing policy and practices. The Service Police will use Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) where at all possible to aid their investigation and support the victim/survivor (SARC use may not be possible if an investigation is taking place abroad or on a ship at sea).Agencies such as the Service Police and single Service Welfare agencies also routinely refer victims to Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) services during investigations or through access to Welfare services, to ensure that all victims receive the appropriate independent support from sexual violence experts. ISVA services operate across the UK, and as such, appropriate services can be identified on a case-by-case basis. The anonymous whole force Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination Helpline, Army 'Speak out' Confidential helpline, Service Police Confidential Crime Line and Service Charities' support lines can also signpost personnel to publicly available support services.The Tackling Sexual Offending in Defence strategy sets out a number of measures to support victims in coming forward and support and enhance the work of the Defence agencies in managing cases of sexual violence. These include ensuring Sexual Assault Pathways with specialist services are followed for all survivors who have faced sexual assault; raising awareness with survivors of external sources of support available; developing ways to gather feedback for those encountering sexual violence and tackling issues of 'victim shaming' through education and awareness raising.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which specialist sexual violence organisations his Department consulted as part of the development of its (a) Zero Tolerance to Unacceptable Sexual Behaviour policy: A Victim/Survivor Focused Approach, (b) zero tolerance approach to sexual exploitation and abuse policy and (c) Strategy for Tackling Sexual Offending in Defence.

Leo Docherty: The Ministry of Defence consulted a number of organisations in the development of its policies and strategy, including Service Women's Networks and the Victims Commissioner who is also a permanent member of the Service Justice Board and is represented on the Service Justice Executive Group. Others consulted in the development of the Strategy for Tackling Sexual Offending in Defence included the Survivors Trust, the National Association of People Abused in Childhood and the Male Survivors Partnership.

Armed Forces: Violent and Sex Offender Register

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Zero Tolerance approach to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) policy and the screening process for Defence people who are on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register, how many Defence people are on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register.

Leo Docherty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 June 2022 to Question 14577 to the hon. Member for Barnsley East (Stephanie Peacock).14577 - Armed Forces; Sexual Offences (docx, 16.8KB)

Armed Forces: Children

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of service personnel who would use the Wraparound Childcare scheme.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department has allocated for the Wraparound Childcare scheme in the 2022-23 financial year.

Leo Docherty: On the 29 July 2022 the Defence Secretary announced the full UK rollout of the Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme, commencing from the beginning of the school autumn term this year. Within the first year of a full UK rollout of the Wraparound Childcare scheme, it is estimated that up to twenty thousand children could benefit and up to £64 million has been set aside for the 2022-23 financial year to meet this potential demand.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the Zero Tolerance approach to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse policy excludes the use of (a) transactional sex and (b) transactional sex of trafficked victims by military personnel in the United Kingdom; and states that this policy applies only to those deployed abroad.

Leo Docherty: The Zero Tolerance approach to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse policy is intended to deal with specific issues that arise if members of the Armed Forces pay for transactional sex when deployed or based outside the UK. Service personnel will often be deployed on training or operations in States which are less economically developed or where civil society has broken down, which means, as with aid workers, transactional sex is likely to be exploitative and harmful. Transactional sex between locals and service personnel is also illegal in many States and risks damaging relations between the armed forces and the local population and may harm the reputation of the UK and its armed forces.It should be noted that Service personnel are always subject to UK criminal law, whether at home or deployed outside the UK, which bans soliciting and payment for the sexual services of a prostitute subject to exploitation or coercion. In addition, wherever they are, their conduct must always be consistent with the values of the armed forces and must not bring the Armed Forces into disrepute.

Kenya: Military Alliances

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the Defence Cooperation Agreement between the UK and Kenya has not yet been ratified.

James Heappey: The Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) must be ratified through Parliamentary processes in both the UK and Kenya. This process has been completed in the UK. In Kenya, ratification was tabled for discussion in Parliament on 13 July 2022. This session was subsequently cancelled. It is not for the UK to comment on Kenyan Parliamentary decisions and timetabling. The existing DCA arrangements remain in place through a bridging arrangement. A revised DCA was signed by both the UK and Kenyan governments in July 2021.

COP26

Climate Change: International Assistance

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the President of COP26, what steps he has taken to help ensure delivery of promised climate finance from (a) the UK and (b) international partners; and what steps he plans to take towards that aim over the remainder of the UK's presidency of COP.

Alok Sharma: During COP26, 95% of the largest developed country climate finance providers made new, forward-looking climate finance commitments, with many doubling or even quadrupling their support for developing countries to take climate action.We are now encouraging all climate finance providers to bring forward their Progress Update to the $100bn Delivery Plan, led by German and Canadian Ministers.Earlier this year, alongside the incoming Egyptian Presidency of COP27 and the High-Level Champions, we announced a new independent High-Level Expert Group on scaling up investment and finance to deliver on climate ambition and development goals.In the recently published International Development Strategy, the Government reiterated the Prime Minister’s promise to double our International Climate Finance (ICF) contribution to at least £11.6 billion between 2021-2026. This sustained commitment will ensure that UK ICF is focussed on driving rapid transformation and systemic shifts required to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact.Following the South African Just Energy Transition Partnership announced at COP26, we confirmed at the recent G7 Leaders meeting, that we are working in partnership with four additional developing countries which want to accelerate their clean energy transitions.

Climate Change: International Assistance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the President of COP26, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that climate finance committed by (a) the UK and (b) other high-income countries reaches frontline communities.

Alok Sharma: Under the UK’s Presidency, 95% of the largest developed country climate finance providers made new, forward-looking climate finance commitments, with many doubling or even quadrupling their support for developing countries to take climate action. These pledges mean that the $100 billion finance goal will be met by developed countries by 2023 at the latest. At COP26, there was significant progress on adaptation finance, with agreement in the Glasgow Climate Pact that developed countries should at least double their finance for adaptation to developing countries against 2019 levels by 2025.To improve access to climate finance, the UK launched the Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance at COP26, in partnership with Fiji as co-chair and the Taskforce’s Steering Committee, including the US, Germany and Sweden. The Taskforce’s approach responds to calls for reform from developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This year, the focus is on implementation and will help ensure climate vulnerable countries and communities get the finance they need faster, and in alignment with their own plans and priorities.At COP26, over $450m was mobilised for initiatives and programmes enhancing locally-led adaptation approaches through the Least Developed Countries Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience (LIFE-AR), Financing Locally-Led Climate Action Program (FLLoCA), Community Resilience Partnership Program (CRPP) and the Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance.The UK Presidency is encouraging commitments from climate providers to set out how they are getting behind the need to implement the Principles for Locally-led adaptation (which currently have over 70 endorsements from governments and organisations), with further finance into relevant climate funds, programmes and initiatives relevant to locally-led adaptation, and enhanced access to finance to support delivery of national and local adaptation priorities.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office makes use of other government contracts and is therefore not responsible for agency retainer fees. The costs of employing agency staff in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022 are shown below.   2019-202020-212021-22Agency Costs£37,329£159,845£52,351

Scotland Office: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office incurred no spend on external consultants in any of the last five years.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Australia

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions she has had with the (a) Leader of the House of Commons and (b) Chief Whip on finding time for a debate in the Commons Chamber on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement; and on what dates those discussions took place.

Penny Mordaunt: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues in order to ensure effective scrutiny of trade policy. The Government recognises the importance of free trade agreements (FTAs) receiving thorough scrutiny and the CRaG process provides Parliament with this opportunity. The Government commitment to holding debates on FTAs during the CRaG process is subject to the request being made in a timely manner and parliamentary time being available. Regretfully, this was not possible to accommodate during the CRaG period for the UK-Australia FTA.

Women and Equalities

Period Poverty Taskforce

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Period Poverty taskforce will resume its work before the end of August 2022.

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, for what reasons the Period Poverty Taskforce has not resumed its work since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

Amanda Solloway: Period poverty is an issue the Government takes very seriously and has taken a number of steps to address the problem.Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December 2021.Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’ has been abolished – with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.As well as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free, to include period products.In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic. Further announcements on the plans and the work of the Taskforce will be made in due course.

Department for Transport

Road Traffic

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a copy of his response to Arun District Council's Director of Growth about the basis for calculating expected growth in traffic to the hon Member for Worthing West.

Karl McCartney: The department responded to the Director of Growth at Arun District Council on the 31th August 2022, a copy of this response has been attached. Letter - Director of Growth Arun District Council (pdf, 111.6KB)

Doncaster Sheffield Airport and Peel Group

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Peel Group and (b) Doncaster Sheffield Airport on the running and future running of the airport through (i) meetings and (ii) correspondence since from January 2022.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with (a) Peel Group and (b) Doncaster Sheffield Airport since January 2022.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport met with Doncaster Sheffield Airport as part of planned commercial engagement with airports during the pandemic and while travel restrictions remained in place. Peel Group wrote to the Minister for Aviation, Robert Courts MP, on the 13 July to inform him of its strategic review into the future of DSA. The Aviation Minister and/or Department for Transport officials have had regular meetings with Peel Group and Doncaster Sheffield Airport since the end of July. The Government will remain in close contact with the airport and local partners as this review is carried out.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has held with representatives from ASLEF in the last month on the upcoming industrial action planned by that union.

Wendy Morton: The Government is not the employer here; negotiations would be between ASLEF and the train operating companies.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact on passenger safety in the event that agency workers are brought in to replace striking transport workers.

Wendy Morton: With the change in the law on 21 July 2022, employment businesses can now provide agency workers to fill staffing gaps caused by industrial action. Any agency worker supplied by an employment business would need to be suitably qualified to perform the role.

Railways: Finance

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of his November 2017 commitment to invest £360 million in UK rail infrastructure has been spent; and what estimate he has made of the date on which all funding will have been spent.

Wendy Morton: We are interpreting this question as referring to the announcement made on 17 November 2021 about the £360million investment to transform rail ticketing across the country. In the three months since the beginning of this Spending Review period, the programme focus has been on developing the detailed technical and commercial work to inform business cases and future procurements to transform rail ticketing. We estimate that all this £360million funding will be spent during this Spending Review period.

Railways: Tickets

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on (a) steps to keep customers informed about and (b) requirements for providing information on the availability of advance rail tickets; if he will bring forward (i) legislative proposals and (ii) other measures to make travelling by train more affordable; and if he will make a statement.

Wendy Morton: The Department holds regular discussions with the train operating companies (TOCs) who regularly market the benefits of booking in advance. Some TOC websites display remaining availability of advance purchase train specific fares at different prices, but it is a well-established principle that the further ahead the booking is made, the cheaper advance tickets usually are. We are currently consulting on the legislative aspects of the Plan for Rail with a deadline for responses of 4 August. Legislation will be introduced when the parliamentary timetable allows. Once established, Great British Railways will be accountable for delivering and improving the offer to customers. There are a number of railcards available that offer discounts against most rail fares. More recently, we launched the Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale. The Great British Rail Sale helped save families money and connect them with friends and families. Over 1.3 million tickets were sold, offering around £7 million worth of savings for passengers.

Railways: Tickets

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when public consultations will be launched on ticket office closures by train operating companies; and when ticket office closures will commence.

Wendy Morton: The Secretary of State has held no recent discussions directly with train operating companies about ticket offices.

Railways: Tickets

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the train operating companies on plans to close ticket offices.

Wendy Morton: The Secretary of State has held no recent discussions directly with train operating companies about ticket offices.

Network Rail and Train Operating Companies: Redundancy Pay

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 27715 on Network Rail and Train Operating Companies: Redundancy Pay, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of funding redundancy payments to Network Rail or Train Operating Companies.

Wendy Morton: Workforce reform proposals are still under discussion.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the impact of recent industrial action by members of the RMT Union on levels of revenue of rail operators.

Wendy Morton: It is estimated that during the RMT strikes on 21, 23, 25 June and 27 July, passenger service trains ran at around 20 per cent of normal services, with surrounding days impacted to varying degrees. It is estimated that fare revenues in Department for Transport train operating companies reduced by around £65million in the week commencing 20 June and £15million in the days surrounding 27 July.

Milton Keynes Central Station: Disability

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps with the relevant stakeholders to (a) investigate the circumstances in which a disabled person was required to ascend station stairs without assistance on Friday 17 June at Milton Keynes station and (b) ensure that a similar incident does not reoccur.

Wendy Morton: My officials are aware of this incident and have been in contact with the relevant train operating companies. A joint investigation by Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and Network Rail has recently concluded and relevant recommendations are being considered as required. Whilst I await confirmation of all recommendations being fulfilled, I understand that Avanti West Coast is continuing to engage directly with Mr Nicholson and has invited him to join their Accessibility Panel to discuss improvements.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) Network Rail or (b) the Rail Delivery Group have the authority to negotiate in industrial disputes without either (i) a settlement requiring approval from his Department (ii) a Ministerial ability to veto a settlement.

Wendy Morton: Currently, the industry is holding national talks with trade union General Secretaries in advance of more detailed local negotiations between train operating companies and their trade union representatives. The role of the Secretary of State is to protect the public purse and ensure value for money. He is therefore required to set the limits of taxpayer financial support and ultimately sign off on any Government funding provided towards a pay deal – not to be involved in negotiating one. His agreements with operators and Network Rail allow him to do precisely that. The Secretary of State for Transport has the ability to set the mandate required of train operating companies. Train operating companies are contractually obliged to seek a mandate in advance of local-level negotiations with their employees’ trade union representatives on a wide range of workforce matters.

Railway Network: Weather

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents of (a) track buckling, (b) electrical faults and (c) fires on the rail network that were caused by the heatwave that occurred between 13 and 20 July 2022.

Wendy Morton: Network Rail and the wider industry are responsible for managing the effects of any weather-related incidents on the railway, and in anticipation of extreme weather conditions, industry works together to implement the necessary mitigations to ensure safety and minimise disruption.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the ongoing industrial dispute between ASLEF union and UK train operators, whether his Department has imposed restrictions on those operators' negotiating capacity in that dispute.

Wendy Morton: Train operators are private sector employers and negotiations must be between those companies and the trade unions. The Government is not party to those negotiations.

Railways: Contracts

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2022 to Question 27714 on Railways: Contracts, by when his Department plans to conclude the development of the Passenger Service Contracts.

Wendy Morton: We are planning a new round of market engagement after we have considered responses to the recent consultation on railway reform legislation.

Office of Rail and Road

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Office of Rail and Road has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted, (c) specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Wendy Morton: The Office of Rail and Road is a non-Ministerial government department and spend on external consultancy is a matter for them.

Train Operating Companies: Industrial Disputes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he his directing the negotiating position of the train operating companies.

Wendy Morton: The Secretary of State is not directing the negotiating position; it is for the train operating companies, as the employers, to negotiate with the unions. Government is not the employer here.

Trains: Ventilation

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to provide for the welfare of (a) staff and (b) passengers on trains without air conditioning.

Wendy Morton: Air conditioning is now installed on the majority of trains on Great Britain’s mainline rail network. Where air conditioning is not available, train operators are taking other steps to ventilate trains, including opening windows throughout journeys and opening train doors at stations where possible.

Railways: Mobile Phones

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the economic cost of poor connectivity to the phone network on train services.

Wendy Morton: The DfT has undertaken analysis of the benefits to rail passengers if mobile connectivity were to be improved in the Mobile Connectivity Research Study.

Midland Main Line: Mobile Phones

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2022 to Question 35029 on Midland Main Line: Mobile Phones, if he will work with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to improve mobile phone coverage on the Midland Main Line.

Wendy Morton: As noted in Section 48 of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, the Government is committed to improving mobile connectivity on the rail corridor through partnerships with key infrastructure providers. The DfT is continuing to work closely with Network Rail, DCMS, and other Government departments to reduce the commercial and technical barriers to improving mobile connectivity along the entire rail corridor.

Railways: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department has not yet published the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline.

Wendy Morton: We need to ensure that the rail projects that we take forward reflect demand whilst remaining affordable. It is important that we are able to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible and the forthcoming RNEP update will do so.

Railway Network: Weather

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure safety on the rail network during extreme weather events.

Wendy Morton: Maintaining our excellent safety record on the railways is a major priority for the Government. This includes addressing the safety risks from extreme weather. To that end, Government has invested in improving the resilience of the rail network through the current funding settlement for Network Rail’s day to day operations between 2019-24. Network Rail has well established operational measures to manage services safely during extreme weather events (including those observed over the summer), including speed restrictions, diversions and in some cases, temporarily stopping services.

Railway Network: Weather

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of tackling the impact of the recent heatwave on the rail network.

Wendy Morton: The damage incurred to Network Rail’s infrastructure due to severe heat was minimal. Some trains were prevented from running due to the risk of the track expanding and buckling but, once the temperature had reduced and the track had contracted, trains were able to run again. Although there were some overhead power lines that had to be repaired, Network Rail has stated the majority of the incremental costs were to provide extra resilience and ensure assets were operational including extra patrol shifts and watchmen on site. Train operating companies will also have incurred some costs as a result of the heatwave, such as repairing damage to trains, compensating passengers (for example, Delay Repay) and enabling them to get to their destination. It is currently estimated that there was no material incremental cost.

Heathrow Airport: Railways

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has held with (a) officials in his Department, (b) the Civil Aviation Authority, (c) Heathrow Airport and (d) Network Rail on the development of the Western Rail Link to Heathrow.

Wendy Morton: This government remains committed to improving rail access to Heathrow and has co-funded the recently opened Elizabeth Line which operates between Paddington and Heathrow.

Railway Network: Strikes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) safety critical and (b) non-safety critical roles agency staff will be permitted to cover during strike action on the rail network.

Wendy Morton: It will be for the train operating companies, as the responsible party, to decide on the agency staff they require. As the industry undertakes vital reforms, safety remains a top priority for all parties and the Government will never compromise the safety of passengers. Train operators and Network Rail operate to very high safety standards which are regulated by the Office of Rail and Road.

Railways: Fares

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to (a) remove (i) peak and (ii) off-peak rail fares and (b) introduce a surge pricing model similar to that found in the airline industry; and whether he has had recent discussions with train operators on that matter.

Wendy Morton: The industry already follows a similar pricing model to airlines for advance tickets, which allow passengers to make substantial savings. As part of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, the Department is committed to simplifying fares. This means that some ticket types might change in future. The Department will continue to work closely with industry to identify the best way to deliver this vision.

East Midlands Rail Franchise

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of delivery to date of (a) service improvements and (b) investment in new rolling stock as set out in the East Midlands 2019 rail franchise agreement.

Wendy Morton: A new dedicated electric train service between Corby and London St Pancras, with frequency doubled to two train per hour has been delivered, enabling peak time long distance services to and from London to be accelerated. The new fleet of bi-mode long distance trains, committed to as part of the East Midlands 2019 rail franchise agreement, are under construction and should enter service in the next couple of years. As a result of the impact of the pandemic, the Department are negotiating to replace the 2019 franchise agreement with a directly awarded National Rail Contract which will enable more flexibility to develop service and rolling stock plans that reflect the changes to travel habits that the pandemic caused.

Railways: Weather

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of miles of rail track painted white in the last month for the purposes of mitigating heatwave conditions.

Wendy Morton: As part of Network Rail’s summer preparation work in 2022, some rails were painted white in order to absorb less heat, making them typically 5°C to 10°C cooler and so less liable to expand or buckle. Network Rail prioritises treating the busiest areas of the network, such as junctions and crossings, to minimise the impact that extreme heat has on passenger service and freight journeys.

Railways: Weather

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the amount spent on the rail network to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Wendy Morton: Measures Network Rail are taking out of their current budget include: :Drainage and earthwork asset renewals and targeted investment in other assets such as track, structures, overhead lines, etc.Standalone climate change resilience projects.Implementation of the climate change adaptation elements of the Environmental Sustainability Strategy perspective across Network Rail central and regional functions. This includes development of climate change risk assessments, strategy and planning, research and analysis to better understand the impact of climate change on the railway and integrate management of the risks into business as usual.

Railway Network: Climate Change

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the impact of climate change on (a) the rail network and (b) the safety of rail (i) workers and (ii) passengers.

Wendy Morton: The Department for Transport has plans in place and underway to adapt to and mitigate the risks of climate change. The Williams-Shapps Rail Plan includes a priority for long-term investment in climate resilience supported by smarter forecasting, planning and technology.

Railways: Pay

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for a deal between the train operating companies and trade unions on wage increases for rail workers.

Wendy Morton: There are regular discussions between the Chancellor and the Secretary of State, including on railway budgetary matters.

Sanctions: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if officials in his Department will hold discussions with representatives of UK-based airlines on ensuring that people who are sanctioned as a result of the conflict in Ukraine are unable to utilise those airlines' services anywhere in the world.

Robert Courts: HMG has been clear that there would be consequences and a severe cost for any Russian military incursion into Ukraine and, in coordination with our international allies and partners, have developed an unprecedented package of sanctions. These sanctions apply to all persons present in the UK, as well as UK persons wherever they are in the world. We have made clear to representatives of UK based airlines that people who are sanctioned as a result of the conflict in Ukraine should not utilise those airlines’ services anywhere in the world. We will continue to reiterate this message through our regular engagement with the industry.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted, (c) specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Robert Courts: Spend on externally contracted consultancy services by the MCA can be found in their Annual Reports and Accounts on GOV.UK. Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK. All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Airlines: Contracts

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) regulatory and (b) safety implications of UK-based airlines utilising non-UK-based sub-contractors on (i) aircraft, (ii) crew, (iii) maintenance and (iv) insurance basis for passenger flights originating in the UK.

Robert Courts: All foreign carriers operating to the UK, through leasing arrangements or otherwise, are reviewed through the UK’s third country operator approval system and are monitored by the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure that they meet international safety standards. The ability to lease from non-UK operators provides UK airlines with flexibility and additional temporary capacity during peak periods, helping to reduce delays and cancellations for passengers.

Motor Vehicles: Electric Motors

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of retrofitting petrol and diesel vehicles with electric motors as an alternative to purchasing new electric vehicles.

Trudy Harrison: Government recognises the opportunities provided by high-quality electric vehicle (EV) conversions. Retrofitted vehicles could help to increase air quality while decreasing carbon emissions and noise pollution. Conversions can also support more challenging use cases, like specialist vehicles and classic cars, to transition to zero emissions. Government has invested over £80 million in early retrofitting initiatives, including the Zero Emission Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme, which is developing a code of practice for electric bus conversions.

High Speed 2 Line: Old Saltleians RFC

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 34848 on High Speed 2 Line: Old Saltleians RFC, for what purpose High Speed Two Limited made combined payments of £2,304,882.94 to O’Brien Contractors between 26 January and 27 April 2022; and how much additional public expenditure has been allocated to the same purpose over the rest of 2022-23.

Trudy Harrison: The release of this information would prejudice, or would be likely to prejudice, a commercial interest.

Department for Transport: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Trudy Harrison: The Department’s published figures in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts includes the total contingent labour expenditure figures for the core Department and its Executive Agencies. These numbers are available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-annual-reports-and-accounts. The table below provides the total spend on contingent labourfor DVSA, covering financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21, as these figures are not included in the total Departmental contingent labour expenditure published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for those years: Financial YearExpenditure (£m)2019-200.62020-210.5 Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “Contingent Labour” or “Temporary Workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are:RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing. https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full timesheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs. We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.

Petrol: Ethanol

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the current world food shortages, if he will reassess the requirement for ethanol content in petrol.

Trudy Harrison: We regularly review measures promoting low carbon fuels to ensure that they deliver cost effective carbon reductions. Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, we promote waste-derived biofuels and reduce the volume of crop-based biofuels that can count towards supplier targets.

Railways: North of England

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press release entitled The Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme, published by the NAO on 20 July 2020, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of work on the route that is no longer needed.

Trudy Harrison: The TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is a major and complex rail project which needs to be correctly developed to ensure the best result for both passengers and taxpayers. All construction work carried out to date is needed to meet the route option selected in the Integrated Rail Plan.

Department for Transport: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Trudy Harrison: The Department’s published figures in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts includes the total consultancy expenditure figures covering the core Department and its Executive Agencies. These numbers are available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-annual-reports-and-accounts. The table below also provides the total spend on consultants for DVSA, covering financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21, as these figures for those years are not included in the total Departmental consultancy expenditure available online: Financial YearExpenditure (£m)2018-190.12019-200.62020-210.5   Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK. All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Railways: North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) steps the Government is taking and (b) agreements the Government has in place with (i) operators and (ii) Network Rail to minimise disruption for passengers on the Transpennine route once works begin.

Trudy Harrison: The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is the largest enhancement on Network Rail’s (NR) infrastructure. NR’s delivery on the ground is being optimised and carefully planned with the affected train operators and industry stakeholders to minimise disruptions to passengers and other rail users. It is inevitable though, with the scale of the upgrade, that some journeys will be disrupted and NR are taking measures to ensure that disruption is managed as effectively as possible. These include working across industry to develop customer handling plans, committing to provide as much notice as possible of disruption and following the principle of aiming to keep passengers on a train as much as possible for example via the use of diversionary routes.

Railways: North of England

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Network Rail can (a) gain access to the Transpennine Route and (b) reach an agreement with operators to ensure that upgrade works can take place and the route can be completed.

Trudy Harrison: Industry forums and working groups have been set up and meet regularly to plan and optimise the delivery of what is the largest enhancement programme on Network Rail’s (NR) infrastructure, the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). NR work closely with industry partners, including operators, to plan access to the route and ensure that disruption is managed as effectively as possible.

Clean Air Zones: Sheffield

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to (a) consider and (b) provide feedback on Sheffield City Council’s clean air zone business case.

Trudy Harrison: We completed our assessment of the Full Business Case submitted by Sheffield City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council on their joint plan to address nitrogen dioxide exceedances in their area. Both local authorities will now implement their plans to achieve compliance with legal nitrogen dioxide limits.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that electric charging points are accessible for wheelchair users.

Trudy Harrison: Government has committed £2.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, with funding to offset their higher upfront cost, and to accelerate the rollout of chargepoint infrastructure.

High Speed Two

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of HS2 Limited accountability in the context of the absence of an HS2 Limited Chair and a named Minister of State responsible for HS2 as of 20 July 2022.

Trudy Harrison: Following the departure of Allan Cook in July 2021 we introduced interim arrangements to ensure that the high levels of accountability already in place for the HS2 programme are maintained. These arrangements include appointing Sir Jonathan Thompson as the Deputy Chair to provide effective leadership of the HS2 Ltd Board until a permanent replacement is in place. I am also pleased to confirm that I have taken over ministerial responsibility for HS2 as of 7 July, following the Minister Stephenson’s change in role on the same date.

Bus Services: Disability

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the speed of the rollout of audio-visual announcements on local bus service.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of audio-visual announcements on local bus services.

Karl McCartney: The Department recognises the importance of audible and visible information in ensuring disabled passengers have the information they need to travel safely, with confidence, and without the fear of a journey taking them anywhere other than their desired destination. DfT statistics indicate that in March 2021, 45% of buses were providing audible and visible information across Great Britain. More and more services are now incorporating accessible information, but its availability remains inconsistent across the country, and the Department is determined to address this. The Department therefore intends, subject to final analysis, to introduce Accessible Information Regulations before the end of this year. This will ensure a rapid increase in the provision of better information for passengers, with the implementation timescale, also taking account of the impact on operators. The Department will also provide Accessible Information Grant funding to help smaller operators to meet the new requirements.

Taxis

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is planning to take steps to review of current regulatory standards for private hire drivers.

Karl McCartney: In February 2019 the Government published its response to the report by the Chair of the Task and Finish Group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing - which can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/923695/taxi-task-and-finish-gov-response.pdf

Uber

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings (a) he and (b) the former Secretary of State for Transport have had with representatives from Uber since 2017.

Karl McCartney: Ministers meet with a wide range of taxi and private hire vehicle stakeholders, including meetings with Uber. These meetings provide an opportunity to hear the views of the sector. Details of ministerial meetings from 2009 have been published and are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. This information is updated on a quarterly basis.

Uber

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have held with representatives of Uber since 2017.

Karl McCartney: Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of taxi and private hire vehicle stakeholders, including meetings with Uber. These meetings provide an opportunity to hear the views of the sector. Details of ministerial meetings from 2009 have been published and are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/dft-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. This information is updated on a quarterly basis.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted, (c) specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Karl McCartney: DVSA’s Annual Report and Accounts available at gov.uk set out the amount spent on consultancy.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted, (c) specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Karl McCartney: Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) spend on external consultants can be found in the DVLA’s Annual Reports and Accounts available at gov.uk. All Government departments, their agencies and arm’s length bodies must follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts and are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £10,000. Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 and above £10,000 (£25,000 in the wider public sector) are published on GOV.UK under Contracts Finder and can be found here. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, the value of the contract, its purpose, and information on the type of awarding procedure used.

Bus Services: South Yorkshire

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to provide feedback to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on their unsuccessful bus service improvement plan submission.

Karl McCartney: The Department provided initial written feedback to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on their BSIP on 31 May 2022. We then wrote to the Transport Directors of unfunded areas on 8 August 2022 offering a one-off surgery on Enhanced Partnerships and Bus Service Improvement Plans with any LTA which requests one, on a first-come first-served basis. These surgeries will offer feedback on BSIPs along with a strategic overview of the BSIP and EP process.

A46: Leicestershire

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if (a) his Department and (b) National Highways will make an assessment of the potential merits of road safety junction improvement works at the A46 Seagrave-Thanington cross-over in Leicestershire.

Karl McCartney: Following the developer-led junction improvement scheme that was delivered in February this year for the new Leicester City Football Club training ground, a Stage 3 Road Safety Audit was carried out at this location. The designers of the scheme are currently developing an additional package of works to address the issues identified that relate to the right turn movement of traffic from Park Hill Lane onto the A46. Until these works are undertaken, the network remains under the jurisdiction of Leicester City Football Club.

Driving Tests

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving examiners there have been across (a) St Helens Metropolitan Borough, (b) the North West and (c) the UK in each year since 2015.

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to incentivise people to become driving examiners to help tackle the backlog of practical driving tests.

Karl McCartney: The table below shows the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) headcount of operational driving examiners (DE) for Great Britain by year since 2015. It also shows the DE headcount of St Helens Metropolitan Borough, which is solely St Helens driving test centre and the North West as defined by the Office for National Statistics. Driving examiner headcountSt Helens driving test centreNorth WestGB2015817715572016922618432017102081773201892231806201910214175020201020416752021102041692To end of August 2022102241708 The DVSA does not hold data relating to DEs in Northern Ireland. Practical driver and rider testing is delivered by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA). The DVSA recognise the high demand for learners wanting to take their practical driving test and is working hard to provide as many practical driving test appointments as possible. The DVSA is recruiting more than 300 additional DEs across Great Britain to help meet the increasing demand for driving tests and has offered financial incentives in some geographical areas where there are particular difficulties recruiting DEs. The DVSA has a number of measures in place to increase the availability of driving tests, which includes: offering a national recovery allowance and annual leave buy back to driving examiners, asking all those qualified to conduct tests, but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and conducting out of hours testing (such as on public holidays and weekends). In addition, we have asked management grades to conduct testing up to 40% of their time and looked at other colleagues across the business, who are qualified to deliver tests, and sought to use them to help deliver tests.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Staff

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to reduce its staffing levels on a (a) headcount and (b) full-time equivalent basis by directorate in line with the objective to reduce the overall size of the civil service by 91,000 posts; and whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on those plans.

Will Quince: As announced in late spring, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, and Cabinet, have tasked the Civil Service with bringing its workforce back to 2016 numbers over the next three years, meaning a reduction of around 91,000 roles.The department and our executive agencies, like every other civil service department, is involved in this work and the number of people we have working in the department is under review.No decisions have been made at this point. Any decisions will be made in line with the department’s priorities and its commitment to protect service levels.

Special Educational Needs

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that children with (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities are able to access the support and therapies they require following the covid-19 pandemic.

Will Quince: The department encourages schools and colleges to work collaboratively with their local authority, clinical commissioning group, and health providers to ensure that children and young people in their education providers have access to the appropriate therapies and support, including working through any backlogs in assessments. To support this, the department issued joint guidance last year for education and health providers, working with a cross-sector group, including the Royal Colleges and professional organisations. The guidance is available at: https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/about-cdc/media-centre/news-opinion/delivery-specialist-11-and-group-interventions-children-and.In December 2021, the government announced an additional £1 billon for the recovery premium over the next two academic years (2022/23 and 2023/24). Building on this year’s recovery premium, this will help schools to deliver a range of evidence-based approaches to support the most disadvantaged pupils, and specialist providers receive an uplift in this funding in recognition of the higher per pupil costs they face. Schools can use their recovery premium funding to help subsidise the cost of support such as speech and language therapies, should they wish to do so. In addition, the schools-led element of the National Tutoring Programme can be used for tutoring to support catch-up in the broader curriculum, such as practising and consolidating techniques in speech and language therapy.The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper sets out the government’s proposals to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families. It aims to drive national consistency in how needs are assessed, identified, and met across education, health, and care through the introduction of national standards. This includes a proposal to commission analysis to better understand the support that children and young people with SEND need from the health workforce, so that there is a clear focus on SEND in future health workforce planning. The full public consultation on proposals within the Green Paper closed on 22 July 2022. The Green Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-review-right-support-right-place-right-time.The department aims to respond to the consultation by the end of this year.

Day Care and Pre-school Education: Private Sector

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of (a) profit and (b) changes in the levels of profit made by private providers and operators of childcare and early years provision in England in the last (i) five and (ii) ten years; and if he will make a statement.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: Under current legislation, private, voluntary and independent group-based providers are not required to share financial information with the department. Therefore, the precise information requested is not available.The department's Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers indicates income-to-cost ratios. A broader measure capturing the ‘breakeven’ range indicates that around half (51%) of all providers had roughly equal total income and total cost, while 26% had a deficit and 24% had a surplus. The patterns in 2021 were broadly similar to those in 2018 and 2019. This information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021.

Educational Institutions: Ventilation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help improve ventilation in education settings in advance of the autumn term.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide HEPA air filtration devices to all schools ahead of the autumn term.

Will Quince: The department has published guidance, Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on indoor and outdoor air quality in new and refurbished schools.BB101 promotes best practice in controlling pollutants and setting maximum standards for levels of pollutants in indoors. More information on BB101 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.As part of the department’s response to COVID-19, state-funded education and childcare providers in England were supplied with carbon dioxide monitors to help manage the need for ventilation and thermal comfort.Schools have found the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in the majority of education providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.Where an area of poor ventilation has been identified that cannot be resolved through simple measures such as opening doors and windows, schools are advised to explore what remedial works may be required to improve ventilation. Where it was not possible to maintain adequate ventilation, providers were advised to consider the use of an air cleaning unit to reduce the risk of aerosol pathogens, including COVID-19 transmission, while the underlying ventilation issue is addressed.To support education providers, the department provided over 8,000 air cleaning units with HEPA filters as a temporary measure whilst the underlying ventilation issue was addressed. More information can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/delivery-of-air-cleaning-units.The findings of a survey of education providers using carbon dioxide monitors found that 97% of providers could achieve good ventilation.Indoor air pollutants can be managed using mechanical or natural ventilation systems. Air cleaning units do not reduce carbon dioxide levels. They are not a substitute for ventilation and should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation. They are not necessary in spaces that are adequately ventilated.

Breakfast Clubs

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of schools in England that have a breakfast club.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department does not have an estimate of the total number of schools which provide a breakfast club. The ‘School and College Panel – March 2022 wave’ research report, published in June 2022, reported that 75% of schools ran breakfast club provision for pupils. The report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1087043/School_and_college_panel_March_2022_Report.pdf.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make a comparative assessment of funding for childcare below school age as a proportion of national income in (a) the UK and (b) other OECD countries.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department has invested more than £3.5 billion in each of the last three years to deliver our early education entitlements.The information requested is not held by the department but has been published previously by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its Education at a Glance 2021 report.The OECD publishes data on expenditure for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). This shows that the UK spent 0.3% of GDP on pre-primary education and care (ISCED 02)[1], compared to the OECD average of 0.6%. The differences on expenditure are largely explained by enrolment rates, legal entitlements, and the intensity of participation, as well as the different starting ages for primary education. The UK has one of the earliest primary school starting ages in the OECD, with most children starting at age 4. Therefore, the window for pre-primary education and spend is smaller than in many other OECD countries. This information is available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/financing-of-early-childhood-education-and-care-isced-0-and-change-in-expenditure-2018_b62e6aba-en.[1] ISCED 02 refers to the UNESCO pre-primary education term. A full definition is available at: http://uis.unesco.org/node/3674229.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of families that require grandparents’ support for childcare.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: According to data from the 2021 Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents, 21% of families with children aged 0 to 4 used grandparents to help provide childcare for their children.

Schools: Coronavirus

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made recommendations to school leaders in respect of prioritising building work and changes to the physical layout and facilities within schools over the summer holidays to reduce the transmission of covid-19 and other diseases in schools during autumn and winter.

Will Quince: ​The department has not made any recommendations this summer to school leaders on changes to the physical layouts and facilities. Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual schools. The law states that employers, including education and childcare providers, must make sure there is an adequate supply of fresh air in enclosed areas of the workplace. This has not changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.​

Higher Education: Public Consultation

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his timescale is for responding to his Department's consultation on Higher education policy statement and reform, which closed on 6 May 2022.

Andrea Jenkyns: The department is now considering the views received in the higher education policy statement and reform consultation and plans to publish a response in due course.

Department for Education: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Will Quince: I refer the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath to the answer the former Minister for Higher and Further Education gave on 1 July 2022 to Question 22552, which provides a total of expenditure of consultants in the last five years.The information supporting questions (a) and (c) is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The information supporting question (b) is only available in part. Within the time and value for money considerations applicable, it has been possible to provide an analysis of the 2021/22 financial year expenditure, by supplier. This analysis can be found in the attached table. Information relating to financial years prior to 2021/22 is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The department adheres to government/public procurement regulations, uses Crown Commercial frameworks where available and ensures best value for procurements. In addition, if the requirements exceed £20,000 or three-months duration, they are subject to Cabinet Office spend controls.Consultancy Expenditure by Supplier (pdf, 140.3KB)

Children: Day Care

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of school holidays on the ability of parents to secure childcare arrangements.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what free childcare is available during the school summer holidays.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The government is providing childcare support in several ways. Support is available through Universal Credit, where working parents on a low income can claim back up to 85% of their childcare costs. Further support is available through Tax-Free Childcare, in which working parents can get up to £2,000 a year per child to pay for childcare, including holiday and out-of-school clubs. This is increased to up to £4,000 a year per child for those with disabilitiesThe department’s holiday activities and food (HAF) programme also provides free childcare places with healthy meals and enriching activities to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning. The government has committed over £200 million per year for this programme, which is targeted primarily towards children who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities also have discretion to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of FSM but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. In summer 2021, the programme reached over 600,000 children and young people in England.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the number of childcare providers in each region of the UK.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Wirral South, and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Educational Institutions: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to provide lateral flow test kits to (a) staff and (b) pupils in education settings in the autumn term.

Will Quince: Public health advice is that testing is no longer advised for pupils, students, and staff in education and childcare settings. The success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme means that immunity levels are high. Therefore, testing takes a less important role in preventing serious illness. As such, the majority of free testing ended on 1 April.The most effective protection against severe disease from COVID-19 for everyone, including those at higher risk from COVID-19, is to get vaccinated. The vaccine offer remains open to those who have yet to receive their primary course or where eligible, a booster. Additional protection is also available for some at-risk groups, through further boosters, antivirals, and therapeutics.Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings, including COVID-19, should now be managed by following the advice in UKHSA’s updated health protection in education and childcare settings guidance, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities. Students and staff are encouraged to follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms of COVID-19, available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19.The department has also updated its emergency planning and response guidance for educational settings. This sets out how education and childcare settings should plan for and deal with emergencies, including the possibility of future significant public health incidents. The guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.If pupils, students, and staff in education and childcare settings wish to continue testing, they will be able to access test kits through the private market. They can find a list of private providers for COVID-19 testing at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing.The government does not endorse or recommend any private providers. Lateral flow tests are also available to buy from pharmacies and supermarkets, including online.

Academies and Maintained Schools: Health and Safety

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will lay a report before Parliament on the physical condition and safety of (a) maintained schools and (b) academies in England.

Will Quince: The department published a report on the condition of the school estate in England in May 2021, entitled ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’. The report can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf. We plan to publish the underlying school level building condition data, collected in the Condition Data Collection programme, later this year.Local authorities, academy trusts and governing bodies are responsible for the management of the physical condition and building safety in schools, using their local knowledge, and understanding of their school estate. This includes carrying out the appropriate surveys, condition checks and fire safety inspections on an on-going basis.Last year, the department wrote to all responsible bodies in England to remind them of their responsibilities to manage their school estate effectively, maintain it in a safe working condition, and to comply with all relevant regulations. The department supports responsible bodies to keep school buildings safe and fit for purpose with an extensive range of guidance. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/good-estate-management-for-schools-gems-what-s-new.

Free School Meals

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children who were eligible for free school meals did not take up their entitlement in 2021.

Will Quince: The latest data on the number and proportion of pupils claiming free school meals (FSM) shows that around 1.9 million pupils are currently claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils. The data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2022.The department does not conduct annual data collection on the level of take-up of FSM among eligible pupils. However, a study conducted in 2013 showed a take-up level of approximately 89%. The study can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013.

Children: Social Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing the level of funding for children's social care services.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the department discuss and work with other government departments on a regular basis, including HM Treasury, on a range of issues.In recent years, the government has boosted real-terms funding to local authorities. This includes the social care grant, which has increased from £410 million in 2019 to £2.35 billion in 2022.This means that in 2022, overall, local authorities have access to £54.1 billion core spending power to deliver their services, including for children and young people. This is £3.7 billion more than in 2021/22.

Schools: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to provide additional funding to schools for supply teachers to cover staff absences due to covid-19 in the autumn term of 2022.

Will Quince: The department continues to monitor the situation and is participating in cross-government contingency planning on the basis of Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) scenarios.The department provided additional financial support to schools facing the most extreme challenges through the COVID-19 school workforce fund in the 2021 autumn term and again in the 2022 spring term. The department regularly assesses and monitors the workforce pressures on schools and our mitigations to support them and will continue to review workforce absence in the 2022 autumn term.The department has frontloaded funding increases to rapidly get money to schools, so that in the 2022/23 financial year, the total core schools budget is increasing by £4 billion compared to the 2021/22 financial year. This is a 7% cash terms per pupil boost and will help schools meet the cost pressures they are facing.

Department for Education: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Will Quince: The department does not separate the costs of agency workers, contingent labour, or any associated agency retainer fees in our accounts. A breakdown could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The cost of contingent labour (including agency workers) is published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports. Figures for the 2021/22 financial year are included, although the audit is still ongoing and this value may be subject to change.The figures below cover the entirety of the Departmental Group, including Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies, for the years specified:Financial YearContingent Labour & Agency Fees (£ million)2019/20£30.8 million2020/21£32.5 million2021/22 (subject to audit)£39.2 million

Children in Care: Regulation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of looked-after children being accommodated in unauthorised and unregulated homes in England.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions there have been in response to Ofsted having found looked-after children being placed in unregulated accommodation.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: Supported accommodation, sometimes referred to as unregulated provision, is not currently subject to Ofsted registration and inspection. This type of provision cannot meet the needs of children under the age of 16 and the department banned the placement of under-16s in this type of provision from September 2021.The department will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards, Ofsted registration, and inspection for providers of supported accommodation. This means that all placements accommodating looked after children and care leavers up to age 18 will be regulated by Ofsted. This will enable Ofsted to take action against poor providers and ensure children live in safe and high-quality accommodation that meet their needs. Further information on the department’s plans to reform this area is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transformational-investment-in-childrens-social-care-placements.On 14 July 2022, the department published transparency data on looked after children in independent or semi-independent placements, to be referred to as supported accommodation, following the reforms. The data for the reporting year 2021 is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/looked-after-children-aged-16-to-17-in-independent-or-semi-independent-placements/2021#dataBlock-b56c1048-47a3-4114-02ee-08da60b29403-tables. This report provided important context for the first set of regulations, which was laid before Parliament on 18 July 2022, that will deliver reforms to this provision. This was an ad-hoc release and, as confirmed in the report, will not be produced annually. The looked after children in independent and semi-independent settings data that is published annually by the department is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.Ofsted has the legal powers to prosecute illegal unregistered children’s homes. To date they have not brought a prosecution against a provider of an unregistered children’s home. These powers will be extended to cover supported accommodation providers from autumn 2023. As an independent body and regulator, decisions on who and whether to prosecute, are made by Ofsted.

Special Educational Needs

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the current waiting time faced by parents and children for (a) EHCPs, and (b) SEN statements.

Will Quince: In England, the system of special educational needs (SEN) statements was changed to education, health and care (EHC) plans in 2014, as part of the new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Regulations.Data on children and young people with an EHC plan in England and, historically, for those with a statement of SEN can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.Timeliness of EHC needs assessments is a consideration during local area SEND inspections by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. Poor performance can be identified as a serious weakness that requires a written statement of action towards improvement.The EHC plan process is a key consideration in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, which was open to public consultation, closing on 22 July 2022.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of opportunities for training available to staff in the childcare sector.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: As part of education recovery and in response to the needs of the workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic, the department is investing up to £180 million in the early years sector. This will build a stronger workforce and enable providers to deliver high-quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas.The workforce investment includes two further phases of the early years professional development programme, building on an initial £20 million programme. This high quality, evidence-based programme is targeted at practitioners in disadvantaged areas. It will provide targeted support to early years staff in communication and language, maths, and personal, social, and emotional development.In response to feedback from the sector, the department is supporting up to 5,000 early years staff and childminders to become qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo).The department is also developing new early years training routes. Employer trailblazer groups have developed level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, and, in August 2021, the department launched a level 5 apprenticeship. From April 2021, free level 3 early years qualifications became available through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.

Children: Care Homes

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of (a) profit and (b) changes in the levels of profit made by private providers and operators of children's homes in England in the last (i) five and (ii) ten years; and if he will make a statement.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department does not hold data on profit made by private providers and operators of children’s homes in England, and is therefore unable to provide information on changes in profits over the last five and ten years.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) looked at provider profits as part of their market study of children’s social care in England, Scotland and Wales. The final report was published on 10 March 2022 and highlighted that some private providers of children’s homes and fostering agencies have high levels of profit.The department welcomes the report and is carefully considering the CMA’s recommendations. We will publish a detailed implementation strategy in due course.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the proportion of staff in the childcare sector who are paid the National Minimum Wage.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The latest figures from the department’s education 'Providers’ finances: survey of childcare and early years providers', collected in 2021, show that 22% of staff aged 23 and over working in a private or voluntary setting, nursery class or maintained nursery school were paid at or below the statutory minimum of the National Living Wage, the survey can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021.At the time of the survey, the rate for both the National Living Wage (for those aged 23 and over) and for the National Minimum wage (for those of at least school leaving age) was £8.72 until April 2021 and £8.91 from April 2021.Some 65% of childminders were paid below these rates. However, as childminders are self-employed, the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage do not apply.

Family Hubs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will pilot Family Help with multi-agency working in places which have established Family Hubs.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department is closely considering the recommendations on Family Help from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care’s final report, alongside those from the National Panel Review into the tragic deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the Competition and Markets Authority study into children’s social care placements. We will publish an implementation strategy later this year.The department will look to ensure local services for families form a cohesive system of support, including the role of family hubs. We are funding 87 local authorities to transform their services into a family hub model. This is to improve access to services for families, build better connections between families, professionals, services and providers, and to support and strengthen family relationships.

Teachers: Pay Settlements

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the teachers' pay settlement on staff recruitment and retention.

Will Quince: Pay awards this year reflect a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of teachers, whilst also delivering value for the taxpayer, not increasing the country’s debt further, and being careful not to drive even higher prices in the future.The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), as an independent body, has recommended what it believes are the appropriate pay awards for teachers this year. When setting the pay award, the STRB was asked to have regard to the evidence of the national state of teacher and school leader supply, including rates of recruitment and retention.We have accepted in full the STRB’s recommendations for 2022/23 pay awards and remain on track to deliver our manifesto commitment of a £30,000 starting salary. These recommendations rightly target the highest uplifts at early career teachers, where we know pay has the most impact for recruitment and retention, whilst still providing a significant uplift of 5% to experienced teachers and leaders, which is the highest uplift in 30 years.The department is addressing a range of factors that influence retention, including, teacher workload. An Education Development Trust report shows that policies such as the department’s school workload reduction toolkit are already having a real impact. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-teacher-workload-education-development-trust-report.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the proportion of employers in the childcare sector that would relax staff-to-child ratios in the event that Government guidelines are changed.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The government is consulting on moving to the Scottish ratios for two-year-olds, from a ratio of one-to-four (one adult to four children) to one-to-five (one adult to five children). The government is also considering how we can provide greater flexibility within ratios for childminders.Alongside this consultation, the department is running a bespoke survey of early years providers to help us understand how the proposed changes to staff to child ratios in early years settings might affect provision, including their intention to adopt any changes. The results of this survey will be published.Our priority continues to be to provide safe, high quality early years provision for our youngest children. Throughout this consultation process we are engaging fully with the sector and parents and carers.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an estimate of the average proportion of household income that families spent on childcare in each region of the UK in the latest period for which data is available.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department does not hold the average proportion of household income that families spent on childcare in each region of the UK and, therefore, cannot provide an estimate for this question.The 2022 Coram Family and Childcare Survey outlines the average prices of childcare in Great Britain and does contain a regional breakdown. This information is available here: https://www.coram.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource_files/Coram%20Childcare%20Survey%20-%202022.pdfThe 2019 childcare and early years survey of parents provided some details around the average weekly costs of childcare in each region. This information is available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2019.The table below splits out the mean and median family-level weekly payment for childcare by region. These payments are for families with a child aged 0 to 4, who paid a childcare provider (or providers) in a specific week for their children aged 0 to 14.RegionMedian (£)Mean (£)Standard ErrorUnweighted base North East31.0053.184.78102North West40.0068.876.10333Yorkshire and the Humber44.1069.475.74297East Midlands61.5884.998.08212West Midlands43.4668.927.07300East of England42.5474.566.79260London91.97135.5113.89233South East45.0080.586.07361South West44.0060.124.05246 The survey also showed that the overall median weekly amount paid by families to childcare providers (including both formal and informal providers) was £45.00.

Educational Institutions: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help prepare education settings for further waves of covid-19 in winter 2022.

Will Quince: As we all learn to live with COVID-19, public health experts will manage COVID-19 like other respiratory illnesses with a focus on protecting those at highest risk.Individual education and childcare providers continue to have responsibility for putting in place proportionate control measures in compliance with health and safety law, to ensure they meet their health and safety duties. Most infectious diseases in education settings can be managed by following the advice in the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) health protection in schools and other childcare facilities guidance, and by encouraging students and staff to follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms or test positive. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities.The department has also updated the Emergency Planning and Response guidance for education and childcare providers to reflect what we have learned over the past two years. This guidance sets out how education and childcare providers should plan for and deal with emergencies, including the possibility of future significant public health incidents. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.

Schools: Weather

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to manage the risk associated with high temperatures in respect of the physical fabric of the school estate in England.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to revise the guidance on school (a) design and (b) planning in the context of mitigating risks to (i) children, (ii) young people and (iii) staff from high summer temperatures.

Will Quince: On 14 July 2022, the department published advice for schools and other education settings on what to do during a heatwave. Schools are also able to access advice from the Department for Health and Social Care guidance for schools, and the Health and Safety Executive guidance for employers on how to manage high temperatures.Schools should continue to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure they create safe and healthy environments for pupils and staff.In November 2021, the department published the revised output specification, setting out the requirements for all new school and college estates to be net zero carbon and climate resilient to a 2oC and 4oC global warming scenario.The department allocates capital funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving the indoor environment and other sustainability measures. We have committed £13.1 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion allocated for the current financial year.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the number of childcare places available for children below school age in each region of the UK.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Wirral South, and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Schools: Weather

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the risks of high summer temperatures for school (a) children and young people and (b) staff in England.

Will Quince: During periods of high temperatures, individual leaders are responsible for managing their own local circumstances and are best placed to make decisions to adapt to their own situation. They should refer to the emergency planning guidance which can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1080970/Emergency_planning_and_response_for_education__childcare__and_children_s_social_care_settings.pdf.They should also carry out risk assessments, in line with government guidance. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heatwave-plan-for-england/looking-after-children-and-those-in-early-years-settings-during-heatwaves-for-teachers-and-professionals?utm_source=14%20July%202022%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19.Procedures should be adapted appropriately based on the individual medical needs of the children, young people, and adults in their care.During the recent period of extreme heat in July, the department sent out two sector bulletin messages in the week leading up to the expected high temperatures, signposting education settings to all relevant guidance and published an Education Hub blog post with advice to settings on staying safe during a heatwave. The blog post can be found here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/07/14/advice-for-schools-and-other-education-settings-during-a-heatwave/.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the average hourly wage for staff in the childcare sector.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: According to survey estimates, the mean hourly pay (calculated as gross weekly earnings divided by contracted weekly work hours) for people working in the early years sector in 2021 was as follows, by provider type:Early years provider typeMean hourly pay (2021)All providers£12.50All providers except childminders£12.94Private providers£11.94Voluntary providers£11.58Nursery classes£18.78Maintained nursery schools£19.38Childminders£8.23 Source: Table 12, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021.

Children: Day Care

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the costs of childcare in the last year.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has regular conversations with cabinet colleagues about important and topical matters, including childcare costs. This has been discussed frequently during cabinet meetings.On 4 July 2022, the department announced further measures across government to increase take-up of childcare support and reduce costs and bureaucracy facing providers. These plans give providers more flexibility and autonomy to make decisions about their settings and needs of children, as well as ensuing families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills.

Free School Meals

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of rising inflation on the ability of schools to offer nutritious free school meals.

Will Quince: The department recognises the cost pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing, and we are holding regular meetings with other government departments and with food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues including public sector food supplies.Cost pressures should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in the 2022/23 financial year, which we distributed through a schools supplementary grant. This includes a £2.5 billion increase in mainstream school funding for 5 to 16-year-olds in the 2022/23 financial year, compared to 2021/22.The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased from £2.34 to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements or School Food Regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. Schools have flexibility under the standards to make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available, so long as nutritional standards are maintained.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is confident that the Holiday Activities and Food Programme is reaching all eligible children.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department is investing over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, which is targeted primarily towards children who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities also have discretion to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of FSM but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision.The programme reached over 600,000 children and young people in England in summer 2021, including over 495,000 children eligible for FSM. Local authorities are asked to ensure that the offer of free holiday club provision is available for all children in receipt of benefits-related FSM in their area. Attendance at the holiday clubs is voluntary.

Nurseries: Fees and Charges

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make a comparative assessment of average nursery costs as a proportion of income after benefits in the (a) UK and (b) OECD; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for that difference.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department has invested more than £3.5 billion in each of the last three years to deliver our early education entitlements, and continues to help families with their childcare bills through Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit.The information requested is not held by the department but has been published previously by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).The OECD publishes data on childcare as a percentage of average household income. This shows that in 2020, two parents both earning an average salary with two children, spent 19% of their net household income on childcare, compared to the OECD total of 9%. Reasons for differences in childcare costs between different countries can include differences in enrolment rates, types of government childcare support offered, how much time a child spends in childcare, staff-to-child ratios, qualification levels of staff, and differences in starting ages. This information is available on the OECD website and can be accessed here: https://stats.oecd.org/viewhtml.aspx?datasetcode=NCC&lang=en.The department continues to explore what more can be done to help parents access childcare which suits their lives, including out of hours or before or after school childcare. We are committed to working together across government to make our current suite of offers work as effectively as possible and ensure it delivers for those parents who need it.

Nurseries: Fees and Charges

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to help reduce the proportion of income after benefits that parents spend on nursery fees.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: To support parents to become financially resilient by moving into and progressing in work, eligible Universal Credit (UC) claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month, regardless of the number of hours they work, compared to 70% in tax credits. This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth over £13,000 a year.Those who need extra financial support for their first set of childcare costs when moving in to work, or when they are significantly increasing their work hours, can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund. This is discretionary non-repayable payment that will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the childcare provider up to the point they receive their first, or increased, salary.Working parents on low incomes and in receipt of certain benefits (earning less than £15,400 and in receipt of UC or earning less than £16,190 and receiving tax credits) can also qualify for 15 hours free early education for 2 year olds.

Social Workers: Career Development

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made on introducing an Early Careers Framework for social workers.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department is considering the recommendations from the final report of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, published on 23 May, alongside the recommendations from the National Panel Review into the tragic deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, which was published on 26 May, and the Competition and Markets Authority’s study into children’s social care placements, which published its final report in March 2022.We aim to set out a detailed implementation strategy by the end of the year that takes account of the three reviews.The department supports the principle of the Review’s proposed early career framework, and we will set out plans to refocus the support social workers already receive early in their careers as part of the implementation strategy.

Educational Psychology

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current number of educational psychologists in England.

Will Quince: I refer the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South to the answer I gave on 27 June 2022 to Question 23384.

Children: Day Care

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on the ability of families to access childcare.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The government has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on the early education entitlements and continues to help families with their childcare bills through Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit.On 4 July 2022, the department also announced further measures to increase take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. These reforms will help address the costs of childcare for thousands of working parents through a renewed drive to ensure parents access the support they are entitled to, ensuring government regulation is proportionate and providing greater flexibility for providers to be responsive to changing needs.The government recognises the pressure on families relating to the cost of living and has announced £37 billion of support targeted at those most in need.

Children's Social Care Independent Review

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure the inclusion of the perspectives of young people who experienced care in the implementation of the Independent Review of Children's Social Care and in the Government's response.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The government is committed to ensuring the voices of those with care experience stay at the heart of reform. The department wants to engage widely with those with care experience and all interested stakeholders to help us agree an implementation strategy that will drive the right change and scale up good practice across the country.The department is setting up a National Implementation Board that will include people with their own experience of the care system, alongside those who have led transformational change.An interim board was held on 21 July 2022 and was attended by three members of the Experts by Experience Board from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. A process is ongoing to identify members with lived experience of the children’s social care system who will attend the first full board meeting, planned for the autumn.The department is at the early stages of implementing a wide-reaching programme of reform. There will be multiple opportunities to support the work beyond the National Implementation Board, including through additional advisory groups on individual elements of the Review.

Family Courts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on improving accessibility for vulnerable (a) families and (b) children to family courts.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department is working with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), key stakeholders and the judiciary on a reform programme to improve the family justice system, and ensure the best outcomes for vulnerable children and families. This reform programme is aimed at reducing the backlog in family courts and improving the experiences of children and families involved in public and private family proceedings. The national Family Justice Board, co-chaired by ministers in the department and MoJ, oversees this work.It is important that vulnerable children and families have access to information and support during family law proceedings. Court-appointed guardians from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) and legal aid work support children and families throughout proceedings, ensuring their voices and views are heard.The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has made recommendations to ensure that family proceedings are less adversarial, to improve engagement and experiences of children and families. This includes recommendations for work to be undertaken by the public law working group and local Family Justice Boards, with the department’s collaboration. The department is now considering the recommendations made by the review and will share an implementation strategy later this year.

After School Clubs

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of schools in England that have an after-school club.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: In March 2022, the department surveyed teachers and school leaders in the School and College Panel. The results of this survey revealed that 65% of primary schools that responded offered after-school childcare. When weighted to be nationally representative, this translates to around 11,000 primary schools.The results of the survey are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1087043/School_and_college_panel_March_2022_Report.pdf.

Children: Care Homes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to tackle markets failures of residential children placements.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: In March 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority launched a market study examining the lack of availability and increasing costs in children’s social care provision. Their final report, published on 10 March 2022, gives a comprehensive overview of how the market functions and identifies areas for improvement.The department is studying the report’s recommendations alongside the recommendations of the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care. In our initial response, the department announced research into the children’s home workforce and that we would engage with the sector to develop proposals to improve oversight of the children’s social care market. The department will publish a detailed implementation strategy later this year.In the meantime, the department has announced £259 million of capital funding over the next Parliament. This is to address concerns in the children’s homes market and create a market that is more attuned to the needs of local children. This builds on work that has already started to maintain capacity and expand provision in existing secure children’s homes, alongside new capital funding to help councils create new children’s homes places.

Classroom Assistants

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research his Department commissioned in each of the last ten years on the role and cost-effectiveness of (a) teaching assistants, (b) other school support staff and (c) other school support staff; and if he will publish that research.

Will Quince: The department conducts research to inform its policy for teaching assistants and support staff. Some of this, such as ‘The deployment of teaching assistants in schools’ from 2019, is published. This report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-deployment-of-teaching-assistants-in-schools.Other research is held within the department and is used to inform ongoing policy development. The department does not publish research where it relates to live policy considerations. The department may of course publish this in the future.

Care Leavers

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling care leavers to continue to live with their carers by extending funding for the Staying Close scheme.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: The department has recently announced funding of £36 million over the next three years to extend the Staying Close programme, so that more care leavers leaving children’s homes get move-on accommodation and support from a trusted adult.Since the 2017/18 financial year, Staying Close has been piloted by five local authorities and three private children’s homes providers. Independent evaluations of the Staying Close pilots were published in November 2020 and reported that Staying Close is helping to provide young people with smoother transitions from residential care to adulthood.The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has also recommended that Staying Close should be a legal entitlement, and extended to age 23. The department is now considering the recommendations carefully and will publish an implementation strategy later this year.

Schools: Air Conditioning

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage schools to install HEPA filters in classrooms.

Will Quince: The department has published guidance, Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on indoor and outdoor air quality in new and refurbished schools. More information on BB101 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.To support schools, the department provided over 8,000 air cleaning units with HEPA filters as a temporary measure while any identified, underlying ventilation issues were addressed. More information can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/delivery-of-air-cleaning-units.Indoor air pollutants can be managed using mechanical or natural ventilation systems. Air cleaning units are not a substitute for ventilation and should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation. They are not necessary in spaces that are adequately ventilated.

Schools: Charnwood

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total capital investment by his Department was in schools in Charnwood constituency in the financial year 2021-22, by school.

Will Quince: For the 2021/22 financial year, Leicestershire local authority, which covers Charnwood constituency, received a School Condition Allocation (SCA) of £4,090,736 to spend on improving the condition of its maintained schools. As SCA is allocated to responsible bodies, not individual schools, we cannot provide a school or constituency level breakdown of this funding.Large multi-academy trusts and voluntary-aided school bodies, such as dioceses, also receive SCA. These allocations can cover schools across multiple local authority boundaries, so are not included in the figure above. All SCA funding is published on GOV.UK.Smaller multi-academy or stand-alone trusts, voluntary-aided schools not part of SCA eligible bodies, and sixth form colleges are instead able to bid to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) each year. In the 2021-22 CIF round, there were six successful projects across four schools in Charnwood, totalling £1,110,079.52.There were three projects included in the second phase of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP2) in Charnwood Constituency. They are: Highcliffe Primary School and Community Centre, The Cedars Academy, and Bishop Ellis Catholic Voluntary Academy. All three projects began prior to the financial year 2021/22 and were handed over before the start of the financial year, with one school, The Cedars Academy, completing construction in the financial year 2021/22. These schools have benefitted from a combined total of £17,845,842 of funding.

Schools: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of inflation on school budgets in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.

Will Quince: Cost pressures should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The department is delivering a £7 billion cash increase in schools and high needs funding nationally by the 2024/25 financial year, compared to the 2021/22 financial year. Increases in funding have been frontloaded, so that in the 2022/23 financial year core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to the 2021/22 financial year.Coventry is attracting a further increase of £5 million for mainstream schools in the 2023/24 financial year through the schools national funding formula (NFF). This will take total school funding for the 2023/24 financial year in Coventry to £284.4 million, based on current pupil numbers. This represents an average increase of 7.5% across two years to 2023/24, compared to 2021/22. Final allocations for 2023/24 will be announced, as usual, in December.Schools in Coventry North East are attracting an extra £1.8 million in the 2022/23 financial year through the schools NFF. On top of this funding through the NFF, schools in Coventry North East are seeing £2.9 million through the schools supplementary grant.Schools in Coventry North East are attracting a further increase of £3.1 million in the 2023/24 financial year through the schools NFF. This will take total funding for the 2023/24 financial year for schools in Coventry North East to £106.2 million, based on current pupil numbers. This represents an increase of 7.3% per pupil for their pupil-led funding across two years to 2023/24 compared to 2021/22.Schools’ actual allocations will be based on local authorities’ local funding formulae.

Schools: Capital Investment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made any representations to HM Treasury in the last year in respect of the need for improvements in the fabric of the school estate; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The department engages regularly with HM Treasury about investment in schools, including capital investment.Ensuring school buildings are well-maintained and safe is a priority for the department. In recent years, we have announced significant increases in capital funding to improve the condition of schools. The department has allocated over £13 billion in capital funding to schools and those responsible for school buildings since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year. In addition, our School Rebuilding Programme will transform 500 schools over the next decade.

Pre-school Education: Closures

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many registered early years settings have submitted notifications of (a) permanent and (b) temporary complete closure of the setting in the academic year 2021-22.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many registered early years settings have submitted notifications of (a) permanent and (b) temporary partial closures of the setting in the academic year 2021-22.

Brendan Clarke-Smith: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Walthamstow, and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Special Educational Needs: Unpaid Work

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will extend the provision of Supported Internships to people with a learning disability who are over the age of 25.

Andrea Jenkyns: Supported internships are part of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, which is designed to address the needs of children and young people up to the age of 25. Extending the Supported Internships programme to people over the age of 25 is not current government policy.Young people who have previously had an education, health and care plan and have reached the age of 25, may also be eligible for funding through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above, including those learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.For young people, including those with SEND, apprenticeships can be the first step on the ladder that leads to fulfilling careers and further learning. For apprentices of all ages, they can provide a route to career progression, reskilling, and upskilling. The department has improved our Find an Apprenticeship service to allow people to identify Disability Confident Employers offering opportunities.

Schools: Weather

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the schools' estate in providing a (a) safe and (b) suitable learning environment during periods of extreme heat.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to future proof the schools' estate in order that buildings can adapt in response to potential future periods of extreme heat.

Will Quince: Schools should continue to carry out their own risk assessments to ensure they create safe and healthy indoor environments for pupils and staff. On 14 July 2022, the department published advice for schools and other education settings on what to do during a heatwave. Schools are also able to access guidance for schools from the Department of Health and Social Care, and guidance for employers from the Health and Safety Executive on how to manage high temperatures.The department has not made an assessment of the school estate in England during periods of extreme heat.The department has published guidance, Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on air quality and overheating in new and refurbished schools. Information on BB101 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.The department allocates capital funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Condition funding can be used to invest in improving the indoor environment and other sustainability measures. The department has committed £13.1 billion to improve the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion allocated for the current financial year.

All Saints Roman Catholic School York: Buildings

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason he determined that All Saints School in York was not eligible for the latest funding for a new build; and if he will make an assessment of the steps that need to be taken for that school to be successful in the next round of funding.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his planned timetable is for opening the next round of funding for capital building programmes of schools.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with schools that were unsuccessful in the last capital schools building round to enable them to succeed in the next round.

Will Quince: The department will select up to 300 schools this year for the School Rebuilding Programme, from the 1,105 nominations received from local authorities, academy trusts and dioceses by 31 March. We announced 61 schools in July to maintain the pace of delivery and begin to address some of the poorest condition schools. These were prioritised on the basis of their condition.The department is still assessing all other nominations, including any supplementary evidence provided. No nominated school has been ruled out at this point and that includes All Saints Roman Catholic School in York, which is still being assessed. The department plans to make another announcement later this year to confirm further schools selected.Once we have selected schools for up to 300 places this year, we will have allocated 400 out of the 500 places available in the School Rebuilding Programme. We are reserving 100 places on the programme for a future round to be announced at a later date.

Universities: Remote Education

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will issue guidance to ensure that universities declare whether courses will be delivered (a) face-to-face or (b) virtually.

Andrea Jenkyns: The Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance for higher education providers, advising them on how to comply with consumer protection law.This guidance sets out the ‘material information’ that prospective students should receive about the courses for which they are applying. This should include information about the number and type of contact hours that students can expect, including, for example, detail on the balance between teaching that is delivered face-to-face, as distinct from any teaching delivered online.

Free School Meals: Migrants

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with no recourse to public funds are eligible for free school meals in (a) England (b) London and (c) Waltham Forest.

Will Quince: National level data on the number of children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and who attracted pupil premium funding, under what was previously a temporary extension of free school meal eligibility to some no recourse to public funds (NRPF) households, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.Due to the low number of FSM eligible children from NRPF households, the department is unable to provide the breakdown of figures requested, to protect these pupils from being identified.When FSM eligibility was permanently extended to pupils from all households with NRPF in April 2022, the department ran a claims process which allowed schools to claim additional pupil premium funding for the 2022/23 financial year for pupils that had become eligible. This information will be captured in a subsequent data release.

Children: Food

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent he has made of the impact of the rising cost of living on the level of food insecurity amongst school children in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; what assessment he has made of the effect of hunger on a child’s ability to learn; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle food insecurity for children and their families in those areas.

Will Quince: The department has recently published data which includes free school meal (FSM) eligibility at national, regional, and local authority level. This can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. The latest statistics show that 26.5% of pupils in the West Midlands are eligible for FSM and 24.8% are eligible in Coventry. The national average for England is 22.5%.The department recognises that pupils’ health is improved and maintained by having a healthy, nourishing diet, which improves concentration and the ability to learn. The department spends over £1 billion each year on FSM, reaching around 1.9 million eligible children. It continues to supply a school meal to a further 1.25 million pupils through Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM).Core schools funding to deliver benefit-related FSM has increased. This includes the FSM factor in the national funding formula (NFF), which has increased to £470 per eligible pupil this year. After the NFF rates were set, the department provided additional core funding through a schools supplementary grant. As a result, core mainstream schools funding is increasing by £2.5 billion in 2022/23, compared to last year. The per meal rate for UIFSM has also been increased to £2.41, backdated to April 2022, in recognition of recent cost pressures.Beyond FSM, the government funds a wide range of further provision for children at different stages, particularly aimed at encouraging healthy eating from a young age. These include Healthy Start for eligible pregnant women and children under 4, free nursery milk for all under 5-year-olds, the school fruit and vegetable scheme for all children between 4 and 6 in state-funded schools, and breakfast clubs.

Children: Nutrition

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of poor nutrition on educational attainment; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: It is important that children eat nutritious food at school to provide them with energy and nutrients to support their growth and development.The department recognises that healthy breakfast clubs can play an important role in ensuring children have a healthy start to their day to enhance their learning potential. An independent evaluation by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, published by the Education Endowment Foundation, found that supporting schools to run a free of charge, universal breakfast club before school delivered an average of two months additional progress for pupils in key stage 1 with moderate to low security. A 2017 evaluation commissioned by the department also found that schools perceived important benefits from having a breakfast club, including improving concentration and behaviour in class.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Lords: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Leader of the House of Commons, how much the Office of the Leader of the House of Lords has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Mark Spencer: The Office of the Leader of the House of Lords has not incurred external consultancy costs in any of the last five financial years.

Leader of the House of Commons: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Leader of the House, how much his Office has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Mark Spencer: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons has not incurred external consultancy costs in any of the last five financial years.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Leader of the House, on what date following the publication in September 2015 of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation briefing entitled Search for a Central London site did their office become aware of the plan to site the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mark Spencer: Responsibility for delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to construct the UK Holocaust Memorial rests with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sewers

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on (a) implementing section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and (b) assessing the potential merits of supplementary regulations to adopt (i) private wastewater pumping stations and (ii) other existing sewerage assets constructed since July 2011.

Steve Double: The Government has reviewed the case for implementing Section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. We will consult in due course on making regulations concerning the adoption of existing private sewerage assets by sewerage companies.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Victoria Prentis: (a) agency workersAgency workers (more commonly referred to as “contingent labour” or “temporary workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control Commentary on contingent labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are: RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing.https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749 This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full timesheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services. RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staffhttps://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160 This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services. Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs. (b) agency retainer fees  We have interpreted agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service. This is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post. Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market. There is no recorded expenditure on agency retainer fees.

Food Supply

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policy on food security of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report entitled Labour shortages in the food and farming sector, published 29 March 2022.

Victoria Prentis: Enabling an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain which invests in its people and the skills they need is a priority for this Government The Government thanks the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee for its report into labour shortages in the food and farming sector. We are aware that there are both short and long-term workforce challenges across the food and farming sector, particularly with respect to seasonal labour. It is with great concern that we have seen evidence of horticulture businesses reducing their plantings, ploughing in crops or considering offshoring production because of concerns over labour availability, all of which have food security implications. Defra continues to work closely with industry and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand and its implications, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce. We extended the Seasonal Worker visa route until 2024 and expanded the number of visas available through this route to 40,000 (now including 2000 visas for poultry workers to meet pre-Christmas demand) as a result of the clear evidence of need this year. Last autumn we delivered emergency, temporary visa schemes for the poultry, pork, and HGV food transportation sectors in response to specific challenges, and introduced an accompanying package of non-immigration measures to alleviate pressures in the pig sector, including Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment Schemes. As announced in the Government Food Strategy, the Government will soon be commissioning an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, covering automation, domestic labour and migration. The review will consider the challenges facing food and farming businesses to access the labour they require and will provide recommendations.

Agriculture: Red Diesel

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2022 to Question 35899 on Fuels: Prices, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in the price of red diesel on (a) farming and (b) other agricultural businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: Defra engages extensively with the farming sector and other agricultural businesses and continues to do so through various forums including the Agri-Supply Coalition and the Arable Chain Advisory Group. Through these forums, we closely monitor live issues, including the increase in the price of red diesel, and their impact on farming and other agricultural businesses. Defra also works closely with other Government departments, particularly HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, to relay the information gathered from industry.In the Spring Statement 2022 and in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the Government announced a temporary 12-month cut to the full rate of duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre and an equivalent percentage cut on the rates for rebated fuels. This is a significant tax cut that will deliver considerable savings to consumers and businesses over the next year, including those that use diesel, and is the first time in over a decade that the main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Consultants

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.

Victoria Prentis: The department’s spend on consultancy is published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts. 2020-21https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021 (page 100) 2019-20https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020 (page 87) 2018-19https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019 (page 64) 2017-18https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018 (page 51) 2016-17https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017 (page 42) The breakdown of this expenditure could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs. Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK. All Government departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Food Supply

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of trends in the level of food insecurity as a result of rising food prices on households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Victoria Prentis: We are working hard to support everyone facing cost of living concerns. We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Recent pressures have been sustained and we have seen food price inflation rise to 12.7% in July, up from 9.8% in June. Defra analysis, based on ONS data, shows that every one percentage point increase in food price inflation increases the average annual food bill of UK households by £34. Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. For example, we have introduced labelling flexibility to reduce additional cost burdens resulting from the availability of sunflower oil. Defra is also holding regular discussions with industry to explore ways in which they can support low-income households by ensuring affordable food remains available, for example by maintaining value ranges, price matching, price freezing measures and the use of loyalty card offers. This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We recently announced a new £15 billion support package to help families with the cost of living, bringing the total support for households this year to £37 billion. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula. Details of allocations to Upper Tier and Unitary Councils can be found at: Household Support Fund Grant Determination 2022 No 31/3096 (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Marine Environment: International Cooperation

Bob Seely: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure it delivers on the Government's commitments made in the Global Ocean Alliance 30by30 initiative.

Steve Double: Since 2019, the UK has been leading the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA) of countries championing ambitious ocean action under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the ‘30by30’ target to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. The ocean has historically been underrepresented in the CBD, and the GOA plays an important role in raising the profile of ocean and marine issues. In addition to leading the GOA, the UK also serves as Ocean Co-Chair of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature & People, alongside Costa Rica and France. The HAC champions 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. Between these two UK-led alliances, 120 countries support 30by30 for the ocean, and over 100 countries support 30by30 for both the land and the ocean. The HAC and the GOA are complementary alliances, working closely together and pushing in the same direction to ensure that the 30by30 target is adopted at CBD COP15. As we approach the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the CBD in December 2022, the UK will continue working with Costa Rica, France, and members of the HAC and GOA, to call for the 30by30 target to be enshrined within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The UK is committed to securing an ambitious outcome at COP15, including ambitious outcomes for the ocean, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally by 2030. However, it is also crucial that we continue working after COP15 to support the global implementation of the GBF, including the 30by30 target. Achieving a global 30by30 target will require an international effort, from all Parties and sectors. The UK is leading the way, with 374 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) protecting 38% of UK waters. We have built a comprehensive network of MPAs and are focusing on making sure they are protected properly. 98 MPAs in English inshore waters already have byelaws in place to protect sensitive features from damaging fishing activities. The first four offshore byelaws have now also been implemented and plans are in place to protect all offshore sites by the end of 2024, using new powers in the Fisheries Act 2020. The Government has also committed to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) following the response to the Benyon Review. We are now consulting on candidate pilot HPMAs. In addition, the UK continues to provide support for marine protection internationally, including through the £500 million Blue Planet Fund. The Blue Planet Fund, financed from the UK overseas aid budget, will support developing countries to protect and sustainably manage their marine resources and address human-generated threats across four key themes: biodiversity, climate change, marine pollution, and sustainable seafood.

Plastics: Seas and Oceans

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the amount of plastic in the oceans.

Steve Double: The UK is committed to leading efforts to protect our marine environment, including fighting plastic pollution. At the UN Ocean Conference in June, the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, which the UK is party to, launched the second Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter that sets out the action countries will take to prevent and reduce marine litter. The UK is proud to have supported the proposal by Rwanda and Peru that led to the landmark resolution to start negotiating a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. To continue to drive progress, the UK became a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution through which we will strive for an ambitious treaty that will end plastic pollution by 2040. The UK's Environment Act enables us to change how we manage our waste and take forward proposals from our Resources and Waste Strategy, including tackling plastic pollution. To tackle pollution from frequently littered items we have restricted the supply of plastic straws, cotton buds and banned drinks stirrers, and with the introduction of carrier bag charges, the use of single-use carrier bags in England has reduced in the main supermarkets by over 97%. Additionally, our ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products has prevented billions of these tiny plastic beads from entering the ocean each year. Furthermore, we have consulted on proposals to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and balloon sticks, and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and beverage containers, including cups. The consultation response will be published in due course. Plastic packaging contributes to 55% to 70% of the UK's plastic waste. The introduction of extended producer responsibility for packaging and a plastic packaging tax this April, will incentivise businesses to produce more sustainable packaging and help address this problem, as will the plastic packaging tax on plastic packaging with insufficient recycled content.

Sankey Canal

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps with relevant (a) local authorities and (b) waterways agencies to ensure the future viability of the Sankey Canal.

Steve Double: Responsibility for different sections of the Sankey Canal falls to three local authorities (Halton, Warrington and St Helens Borough Councils), the Canal and River Trust, and a limited company. Ministers do not have a role in operational matters on inland waterways. It is for the navigation authorities to decide on funding allocations for their maintenance.

Inland Waterways

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that water levels in (a) canals and (b) waterways are at sustainable levels.

Steve Double: Ministers do not have a role in operational matters on inland waterways, including water levels. It is for the navigation authorities to manage the maintenance and operation of the waterways for which they have responsibility, working with local authorities and the Environment Agency where necessary.

Fluorinated Gases

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has conducted modelling on the impact of the potential removal of medical exemption to the F gas phase down schedule on the cost of medicines.

Steve Double: Defra is reviewing the F-gas Regulation, which includes an exemption from the hydrofluorocarbon phasedown for metered dose inhalers (MDIs). The review will consider the implementation of the current F-gas Regulation and options for future policy development. The implications of removing the exemption for MDIs, including the potential impact of this on cost and supply, will be included in the analysis. NHS England is in the process of reducing the use of MDIs containing high global warming potential propellants and has produced cost estimates for the switch from MDIs to currently readily available alternatives. These cost estimates will be incorporated in Defra’s work. Defra is working on this review jointly with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and we plan to consult on proposed future policies next year.

Fluorinated Gases

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on a timescale for the phasedown of the use of fluorinated gases in asthma inhalers.

Steve Double: Defra has a legal duty to undertake a comprehensive review of the F-gas Regulation. As part of this work, Defra will identify additional action that can be taken with regard to F-gases and their contribution to net zero. At COP26, Defra committed to an accelerated hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown. Defra intends to publish an assessment report by the end of 2022 as the first stage of the review. It will focus mainly on analysing the effects of the current Regulation, together with the current state of play in relevant industry sectors and international commitments. The second stage of the review will involve a public consultation on proposals for any legislative changes.The F-gas Regulation currently includes an exemption from the HFC phasedown for metered dose inhalers (MDIs). The continuation or removal of the exemption for MDIs will be considered as part of the policy development and analysis into future options, as well as implications of the HFC phasedown on MDIs. To support this work there is ongoing engagement between Defra, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care.

Fish Farming: Animal Welfare

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the suffering of farmed fish at the time of killing.

Steve Double: Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations. As part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are currently considering improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. To inform this work, we have asked the Animal Welfare Committee for advice and this is expected in the autumn.

Marine Environment: Climate Change

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect UK marine wildlife from the increase in ocean temperatures.

Steve Double: In the UK we are committed to ensuring that climate change adaptation, resilience and mitigation are fully considered in our marine and fisheries policies, and work is underway to prepare for the Third National Adaptation Programme, due to be published in 2023.Through our UK Marine Strategy, we have put in place a legal framework for assessing and monitoring the status of our seas, and implementing the measures needed for UK waters to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES). We have consulted on a programme of measures proposed for inclusion in Part 3 of the Strategy, which include measures supporting the increased resilience of the marine environment/species to climate change impacts.We are also working with those countries we share our seas with through OSPAR, the regional seas convention for the North-East Atlantic, to implement its strategy to 2030, which includes developing coordinated management approaches to strengthening ecosystem resilience, including to the consequences of climate change.Ocean action should be underpinned by transformational ocean science, and the UK is a hub of world class ocean and climate scientific expertise. We continue to develop and invest in our world-leading science, including though partnerships like the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, to champion ocean climate research across key areas such as blue carbon, nature-based solutions, ocean acidification and global monitoring systems.

Dogs: Imports

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of dogs that were commercially imported into the UK from other countries in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Steve Double: The number of dogs imported commercially into the UK from the EU and the Rest of the World in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (1 January 2022- 31 July 2022) is shown below. 20202021202266,95278,29927,097 This information is drawn from external TRACES and IPAFF systems not directly controlled by the department.

Food: Waste

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of trends in the level of food waste in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of food wasted by (a) consumers, (b) supermarkets and (c) restaurants.

Steve Double: Periodic estimates of UK annual food waste levels are undertaken by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) with government funding:2007 – 11.2 million tonnes2015 – 10 million tonnes2018 – 9.5 million tonnes Defra is investing £2.6 million this year to combat food waste. That includes working with and funding WRAP to address food waste in households and industry. The Government’s funding supports the Courtauld 2030 Commitment, a voluntary agreement with the food industry with a target to halve food waste by 2030. As well as tackling waste across supply chains, Courtauld signatories play a key role in providing consumers with support in reducing food waste at home, for example, by offering storage advice and appropriate labelling. The Government also funds WRAP's consumer campaigns such as Food Waste Action Week and Love Food Hate Waste (https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/), which aim to raise public awareness of food waste and the ways in which individuals can reduce it. Defra also funds WRAP’s Guardians of Grub campaign and online learning programme (https://guardiansofgrub.com/) which aims to support the hospitality and food service sector to reduce food waste and associated costs. The aim is to embed good practice across the sector, to raise awareness of where food waste is arising and to take action by using free tools and resources.Additionally, the Government is currently consulting on options to improve food waste reporting by large businesses; evidence shows measuring leads to a reduction in food waste: Improved food waste reporting by large food businesses in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Plankton: North Atlantic Ocean

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the sustainability of plankton levels in the North Atlantic.

Steve Double: As a contracting party to OSPAR, the regional seas convention covering the North-East Atlantic, the UK contributes to the assessment of plankton in the North-East Atlantic. Although the sustainability of plankton has not been specifically addressed by research at the North Atlantic scale, abundance and diversity of plankton in the North Atlantic is. These assessments indicate that there is variability in the plankton community, which is in accordance with the published scientific literature on plankton dynamics.

Air Pollution: Children

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of children in England who (a) live in and (b) go to school in areas where the level of air pollutants has increased in the last 12 months.

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the number of people in England who live in area where the level of air pollutants has risen in the last 12 months.

Steve Double: Defra completes an annual compliance assessment against the Air Quality Standards Regulations, providing an overview of air pollution across 43 zones in the UK. An assessment of data from 2021 will be published in September, while an assessment of 2022 will be published in September 2023. All annual assessments published to date can be found on our UK-Air website at: Air Pollution in the UK report - Defra, UK

Air Pollution: Playgrounds and Schools

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) schools and (b) playgrounds in England that are in the vicinity of air quality monitoring sites that have recorded a rise in the level of air pollutants in the last 12 months.

Steve Double: Data on the location of monitoring sites, as well as pollutant concentrations from these sites, is available on the UK Air website (https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk).

Glass: Recycling

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on recycling rates of excluding glass from the scope of the forthcoming deposit return scheme for drinks containers.

Steve Double: We will capture glass under Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and continue to collect and recycle high levels from the kerbside. We assess this will deliver a UK recycling rate for all glass packaging of 84% by 2033.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Edward Timpson: Agency workers are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area. Commentary on Contingent Labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports. The Attorney General’s Office does not pay agency retainer fees and the annual spend on agency workers, since 2020, is set out below.YearCost2020-21£27,841.172021-22£78,790.992022-23 (P1-3)£12,663.46Total£119,295.62

Attorney General: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if she will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Edward Timpson: For the last five years, The Attorney General’s Office has had a nil spend for external consultants* Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK. All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts. * Whilst preparing this response the department have not considered the use of specialist counsel or short-term contractor contracts as consultancy.

Serious Fraud Office: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Attorney General, how much the Serious Fraud Office has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if she will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Edward Timpson: The spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.  2020/212019/202018/192017/182016/17£95,000£42,000£0£0£0  Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK. All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Attorney General, how much HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if she will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Edward Timpson: For the last five years, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has had a nil spend for external consultants.

Ministry of Justice

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the total value of compensation that has been paid out for unlawful detentions where case outcomes have been recorded on the Common Platform in each of the last three years.

Miss Sarah Dines: HM Courts & Tribunals Service records compensation paid for unlawful detentions on the OPTIC digital system, which is used to record a range of incidents. The OPTIC system does not record whether a compensation payment for a case classified as an unlawful detention is also associated with a case recorded on the Common Platform system with an outcome, so the information requested is not held centrally.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) legal advisers, (b) court associates and (c) court clerks have left service since the Common Platform was introduced at their workplace, by the grade of those employees.

Miss Sarah Dines: The MoJ does not hold the information in the scope of the question. The data held in the HR database does not fully reflect the job titles specified and as such the information cannot be extracted.

Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre: Legal Profession

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 32512 on Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre: Legal Profession, if he will make it his policy to (a) require legal aid providers contracted from 1 July 2022 to deliver Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS) appointments at Derwentside immigration removal centre (IRC) to deliver those appointments in person and (b) remove the requirement for a prior request to be made in order to have an in-person legal visit; and whether any remote DDAS appointments took place with women at Derwentside IRC between 1 and 7 July 2022.

Miss Sarah Dines: The provision of legal advice under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme is governed by the terms of the 2018 Standard Civil Contract: Immigration Specification. The Contract currently permits, but does not require, appointments to be in person, unless specifically requested by the resident. There are currently no plans to change this. This is the same requirement as for all other Detained Duty Advice Schemes.Between 1 July 2022 and 7 July 2022, there were 10 requests for Detained Duty Advice Scheme legal appointments at Derwentside IRC, with 9 of these taking place remotely. One resident left the centre before their appointment could be fulfilled.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide full breakdown of the costs of (a) developing and (b) operating the Common Platform.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what cost-benefit assessment his Department has undertaken on the Common Platform.

Miss Sarah Dines: The HMCTS Reform programme is being funded and delivered in line with the final edition of its business case which was agreed with HM Treasury in early 2021. The programme impacts all areas of HMCTS work and it is not possible to identify the complete cost of Common Platform in isolation, given the many interdependent and shared components of the programme that are used both by Common Platform and by other reformed services.The final business case put the total cost of the reform programme as £1,291m (in 2020/21 prices). Within this total the costs explicitly attributable to implementing the Common Platform are £308m. As of June 2022, total spend to date on implementing the Common Platform was £276.4m. The final business case estimates the total net value of recurring annual benefits from the reform programme at £229m (in 2020/21 prices), with £96m of recurring annual net benefits explicitly attributable to Common Platform and other associated reformed services in the criminal courts.The business case was accompanied by a full cost benefit analysis, from which the above cost and benefit estimates were obtained. This analysis fully conformed to the Treasury’s “Green Book” and was subject to scrutiny and validation by the Government Major Projects Portfolio in February 2021. The Common Platform will also provide a number of non-financial benefits, in speeding up processes and improving data collected on criminal justice.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times an order drawn up on the Common Platform has been communicated to stakeholders where there is a material difference to what was inputted and what was transmitted in each of the last 21 months.

Miss Sarah Dines: HMCTS cannot provide this information as it is not routinely collected/recorded centrally. Issues would usually be dealt with at a local level and would only be reported centrally where there was a significant impact/error or where a complaint is made. OPTIC does not record the impact on other criminal justice agencies where a complaint/issue is recorded.As an accuracy assurance, in those courts where Common Platform has been rolled out, there are checks in place to identify and prevent errors whilst Legal Advisers build their capability. 100% checks are undertaken until it is assessed that the individual Legal Adviser would no longer benefit from this level of checking.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the criteria are for determining (a) high, (b) medium and (c) low risk errors recorded on the Common Platform.

Miss Sarah Dines: It is the function of HM Courts and Tribunals staff to make sure that systems are in place to enable the adjudication of the court to be accurately recorded in the Crown Court and the magistrates’ courts. The Common Platform is a new system for recording the decision of the court and training plans for legal advisers in magistrates’ courts include reference to ‘resulting risk levels’ of high, medium, and low, to highlight the potential impact of an error and the need for accuracy. No formal criteria were set out for the categorisation of these errors; the assessment was made by a group of experienced magistrates’ courts legal advisers. The training arrangements for staff initially involve the checking of all results entered onto the Common Platform by an individual. Only when there is assurance of consistent accuracy levels across all result types is ‘on the day’ checking reduced or removed for individual members of staff, with ongoing assurance provided through the regular governance checks.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of case outcomes recorded on the Common Platform were added between the hours of 6.00pm and midnight in each of the last 21 months.

Miss Sarah Dines: In the period from September 2020 to April 2022, on average, results entered onto Common Platform from 18:00 onwards represent 1.76% of all results.

Aiding and Abetting: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make a comparative assessment of access to appeals for people who were convicted (a) before and (b) after the abolition of parasitic accessory liability (PAL) as a basis for criminal liability in cases in which (i) PAL and (ii) secondary liability was relevant.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Government has no plans to conduct a comparative assessment of appeals where a defendant was convicted of a criminal offence where parasitic accessory liability or secondary liability was a factor.The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database only holds information on people who have been proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for specific criminal offences in England and Wales (i.e. murder, manslaughter, etc). This centrally held information does not include information on whether a defendant proceeded against or found guilty of an offence was party to a joint enterprise that involved parasitic accessory liability.Similarly, data on individual appeals against convictions where parasitic accessory liability or secondary may have been a factor is not held centrally.

Barristers: Industrial Disputes

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will meet with the Criminal Bar Association and representatives of striking legal professional barristers to help prevent further delays to cases.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by when his Department expects to respond to all the recommendations of the Bellamy Review into legal aid; and if he will make a statement.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the financial effect on the criminal legal aid sector of the time taken to implement recommendations of Sir Christopher Bellamy’s Independent review of criminal legal aid.

Miss Sarah Dines: My predecessor, James Cartlidge MP, met representatives from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in May and I met them in July. These meetings gave us the chance to discuss the positive changes proposed by CLAIR and the benefits of engaging with government constructively to ensure the sustainability of the sector. Senior officials continue to meet the chair of the CBA on a regular basis to discuss issues of mutual concern.On 30 June, the Government announced via a Written Ministerial Statement that it would introduce secondary legislation to increase criminal legal aid fees. On 20 July, the Government laid a statutory instrument to implement a 15% uplift to most fee schemes. This statutory instrument will come into force for new representation orders that begin from 30 September 2022 onwards. Criminal legal aid practitioners will start to receive the pay increase from October 2022 onwards for their work on these cases.Whilst we recognise the importance of remuneration in delivering long term sustainability of the market, Sir Christopher’s review was not just about providers’ remuneration, but also about the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System for all who use it. That is why alongside greater investment in criminal legal aid fees, we have consulted on a range of non-financial measures to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.Sir Christopher Bellamy undertook a financial assessment and recommended that funding for criminal legal aid should be increased overall for both solicitors and barristers as soon as possible to an annual level, in a steady state, of at least 15% above present levels. On 15 March, we published our interim response to Sir Christopher Bellamy’s report together with a consultation on related policy proposals. This was followed by a 12-week consultation period, and then a further 12 weeks to deliver requisite operational and legal changes. The next phase will involve consideration of the options for longer term reform we set out in the consultation, with a full response being published in the autumn. Notwithstanding the time constraints, we have worked as quickly as possible to deliver the funding increase, with the new fees due to come into force on 30 September. There is provision for interim and hardship payments to be made to criminal barristers and solicitors in certain circumstances, which are set out in Regulations and administered by the Legal Aid Agency.

Sentencing: Appeals

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Supreme Court judgement of 18 February 2016 in R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8; and if he will consider the potential merits of reviewing the operation of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 in relation to joint enterprise convictions and the right to appeal.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Government has no plans to specifically review the operation of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 for joint enterprise convictions.

Rape: Criminal Proceedings

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of trials for rape were delayed by defendants failing to place a plea at the first plea hearing in each of the last three years.

Tom Pursglove: Data regarding the number of hearings before plea entry for defendants dealt with for rape offences in ‘for trial’ cases at the Crown Court can be found in the table below. The latest data is available to the 12 months ending March 2022. Table 1 – Defendants dealt with for rape offences in ‘for trial’ cases where a plea was entered and accepted in the Crown Court, England and Wales, 12 months to March 2022   YearTotal defendantsPlea entered at first hearingPlea entered at subsequent hearings UnknownVolume of defendants2019/201,5091,205234702020/211,047797192582021/221,9251,456354115Percentage (%)2019/20100%80%16%5%2020/21100%76%18%6%2021/22100%76%18%6%Source: Criminal Court Statistics, Data and Analysis, Ministry of Justice1)The number of defendants relate to defendants in the cases that were disposed of in the reporting period where a plea was entered, e.g. this excludes instances where no plea was entered.2)Number of hearings it took for a plea to be entered, including the hearing that it was entered at. ‘Unknown’ hearings include instances where no hearing information is available.3)Most serious offence for each defendant. If a defendant is charged with more than one offence in a case the most serious offence will be taken to represent the defendant.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the new Enhanced Support Service on tackling the most challenging behaviour in prisons.

Stuart Andrew: We are investing to make our prisons safer for both prisoners and staff through a preventative approach, including introducing specialist support and developing bespoke interventions. Over the next three years we will make available an Enhanced Support Service (ESS) to 18 prisons, where we find the most violent behaviour. ESS provides a multi-disciplinary team of a prison officer, mental health nurse and psychologist, to work with individuals, and address their risk of harm to self and others, intervening in the most acute situations.There has been a positive evaluation about the impact of ESS in one prison and key learning from the evaluation showed a reduction in aggressive behaviours. We will continue to evaluate the impact of ESS on violence and self-harm.

Prisoners

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of expected trends in the level of the prison population in the next five years.

Stuart Andrew: The November 2021 prison population projections published by the Office for National Statistics show that the overall prison population in England and Wales is projected to increase to 98,500 by March 2026. This is largely due to the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers, which is expected to increase charge volumes, as well as the impact of courts working through the backlog of cases and implementing tougher sentencing measures to protect the public. We are investing £3.8 billion over the next three years to deliver 20,000 additional, modern prison places across England and Wales by the mid-2020s to meet this projected increase.

Prisons: Ethnic Groups

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of people in (a) senior leadership and (b) governor positions in the prison system from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Stuart Andrew: As of 30 June 2022, based on self-declared information, the proportion of ethnic minority staff in senior leadership positions and substantive Governing Governors working in public sector prisons was 6.5% and 5.6% respectively.We recognise that race disparities persist in the Criminal Justice System, and we are committed to actively tackling the impact of this across MoJ. In December 2020 HMPPS launched the Race Action Programme, which will increase the diversity of our workforce, address the risk of bias in our policies and tackle disparity in outcomes for prisoners, people on probation and children in our system.

Haslar Immigration Removal Centre: Trees

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason trees and shrubs outside the grounds of Haslar Immigration Removal Centre were removed; and whether he plans to take steps to replant those trees and shrubs.

Stuart Andrew: The trees and shrubs outside the centre were removed due to a misunderstanding between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the contractors assigned to carry out work to tidy up the area.MoJ is currently considering quotes for the replacement of the plants and trees and this work will begin as soon as we have chosen a contractor.

Prisoners: Food

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average daily cost of food per prisoner was in each prison in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

Stuart Andrew: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Food budgets for public sector prisons are determined locally and kept under review as part of normal budget allocation planning.Prison Rules require that prisoners are provided with three meals a day that are varied and nutritious and that meet the religious, cultural and medical needs of all. HMPPS will continue to work closely with the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities, following government guidelines on eating healthy meals.

Prison Accommodation: Standards

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2022 to question 33745 on Prisons, if he will take steps to ensure that the Prison Group Director gives effect to the standard set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment that all prisoners in multi-occupancy cells are afforded a minimum of four square metres of living space.

Stuart Andrew: New prison accommodation being delivered under the Government’s prison expansion programme, including at the recently opened HMP Five Wells, will meet the standard set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, that all prisoners in multi-occupancy cells are afforded a minimum of four square metres of living space.Some cells in older prisons - Victorian prisons, for example – may fall short of these recommended minimum standards. In such cases, other alleviating factors are found. These factors include in particular the fact that prisoners are able to spend a considerable amount of time each day outside their cells (in workshops, classes or other activities).On 22 April 2022, HMPPS published a revised framework for the certification of prisoner accommodation. Cells are only shared where a Prison Group Director has assessed them to be decent and of an adequate size and condition. In addition, they must have adequate lighting, heating, ventilation and fittings, have 24-hour access to water and sanitation, and allow prisoners to communicate at any time with a prison officer. These standards ensure that prisoners are accommodated safely even when two prisoners are held in a cell (originally designed for one).

Prisoners: Exercise

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2022 to question 33745 on Prisons, if he will take steps to ensure that all prisoners in England and Wales are afforded a minimum of at least one hour of outdoor exercise each day in compliance with the (a) United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, (b) European Prison Rules and (c) the standards of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Stuart Andrew: HMPPS recognises the importance to prisoners of outdoor exercise and spending time in the open air. Subject to weather conditions and the need to maintain good order and discipline, current policy provides for all prisoners to be afforded a minimum of 30 minutes in the open air daily. Governors strive to deliver above the minimum 30 minutes requirement where operationally possible, which means that many prisoners may regularly benefit from a greater amount of time in the open air, including through participation in activities/physical education and exercise. There are no immediate plans to review the policy.

Coroners: Standards

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle backlogs in the coroners' court system.

Simon Baynes: Coroner services are funded and administered by local authorities. However, the Government recognises the pressures experienced by local authorities as a result of the pandemic and has provided £6.15 billion in un-ringfenced funding to local authorities in England and additional funding to the Devolved Administrations under the Barnett formula, to help them manage the costs of those additional pressures, which could include coroner services. The Chief Coroner has issued guidance to coroners on developing recovery plans and engaging with local authorities on the resources required to deal with the outstanding backlog of cases caused by the Covid 19 pandemic: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GUIDANCE-No-39-Covid-recovery-20-05-2021-002.pdf. He is also undertaking a tour of all coroner areas to engage with them on their post-pandemic recovery plans. The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022, which received Royal Assent on 28 April, includes a number of measures to streamline coroners’ court processes, support the coronial system with post-pandemic recovery plans and minimise distress to bereaved families.

Cabinet Office

Musicians: British Nationals Abroad

Patrick Grady: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency has had with representatives of the music industry in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK on the potential impact of Brexit on the ability of musicians to (i) tour for performances and (ii) sell merchandise within the European Union.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Minister for Brexit Opportunities does not meet music industry representatives on this issue, as this falls largely within the remit of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.The Government is committed to supporting the touring sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. We have worked with the sector and directly with Member States to clarify arrangements, press for specific changes from Member States, and introduce unilateral measures where possible.Government ministers and officials regularly engage with the music sector, including on the important issue of touring. This includes the DCMS-led touring group, which last met in June 2022, with attendance from the former DCMS Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, officials from across government and devolved authorities, and representatives of the creative and cultural sectors.

Prime Minister: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Prime Minister’s Office has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government Property Agency has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Civil Service Commission has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Equality and Human Rights Commission has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Committee on Standards in Public Life has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the House of Lords Appointments Commission has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Security Vetting Appeals Panel has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Senior Salaries Review Body has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Social Mobility Commission has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Commissioner for Public Appointments has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Equality Hub has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office, Government Property Agency, Civil Service Commission, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Committee on Standards in Public Life, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, Senior Salaries Review Body, Social Mobility Commission, Equality Hub, Government Equalities Office, Commissioner for Public Appointments, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests and House of Lords Appointments Commission are an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.Expenditure on consultancy is published annually in our annual report and accounts and I refer the hon Member to my answer to PQ 22549 on 23 June, where our spend is outlined.Details of consultancy contracts, including the supplier, above £10,000, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder)

World Economic Forum

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) Ministers and (b) other representatives of UK Government Departments attended the World Economic Forum annual meeting in each of the last five years.

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what was the cost to the public purse of Government attendance at the World Economic Forum in (a) total and (b) by each Department in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: Ministers from the following departments have attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting with officials since 2018: Her Majesty’s Treasury (2020, 2019 and 2018); Cabinet Office (2022); and the Departments for International Trade (2022, 2019 and 2018); Health and Social Care (2019); Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2019 and 2018); Culture, Media and Sport (2019 and 2018); and International Development (2019). The then Prime Minister also attended in 2018.The Cabinet Office does not hold a centralised database of total Government spending on travel to the World Economic Forum’s annual meetings. However, Ministerial and senior official foreign travel transparency data is published on gov.uk.

Government Estates Management: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government Estates Management has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: This information is not held centrally. GEM is responsible for providing solutions to specialist estates management issues across government.

Chequers: Official Hospitality

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who attended the Prime Minister’s gathering at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Chequers on the weekend of 16 July; and what was the cost to the public purse of that gathering.

Michael Ellis: As I outlined in my answer of 18 October 2021 to PQ 54006, Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust. As has been the practice under successive Premiers, the incumbent Prime Minister uses Chequers consistent with the wishes of the donor, the late Sir Arthur Lee, who gave it to the nation for the use of the serving Prime Minister, for both official and private use. This is set out in the Chequers Estates Act 1917.Details of official hospitality at Chequers are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website. I can confirm the Prime Minister’s gathering of 16 July was not an official event.Personal or party political hospitality is not paid for by the public purse.

Cabinet Office: Agency Workers

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Prime Minister's Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: For reporting purposes the Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and consolidated as part of our group expenditure.A) Spend on Agency staff is published as part of our Annual Report and Accounts, the last 3 years figures are:YearSpend £000s2019/2068,8242020/2161,8602021/2251,651Note - 2021/22 figures remain provisional until our annual report and account is published later this year.B) We have interpreted your reference to agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service, this is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.We do not specifically record expenditure on retainer fees paid to recruitment agencies, and they form part of our overall recorded recruitment costs. This includes assessments, search fees and vetting and is undertaken both for our own purposes and cross government. We cannot separate out expenditure paid solely on retainer fees.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date following the publication in September 2015 of theHolocaust Memorial Foundation briefing entitled Search for a Central London site did their Department become aware of the plan to site the memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Responsibility for delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to construct the UK Holocaust Memorial rests with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Crown Commercial Service: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Crown Commercial Service has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: Spend on externally contracted consultancy services for the CCS in each of the last five years is shown in the table below.2020/212019/212018/192017/182016/17£1,281,622£2,199,349£2,220,563£3,191,422£6,679,277Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arms Length Bodies are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on GOV.UK.All Government Departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.

Ministers: Leave

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 8 November 2021 to Question 68322 and 19 January 2022 to Question 105589 on Ministers: Leave, and with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 15 July 2021 on Government Transparency and Accountability, HCWS185, when the Government plans to present a report to Parliament setting out considerations and proposals on adoption and parental leave, absences for sickness and other reasons and unpaid roles.

Michael Ellis: Policy development in these areas is ongoing. It remains the Government's intention to lay a report before Parliament in due course.

Civil Service

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is taking steps to require Government departments to (a) undertake equality impact assessments in relation to proposals to reduce staff and possibly services as part of the plan to reduce the Civil Service by 91,000 posts and (b) consult unions as part the process of drafting those assessments.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Departments have been asked to consider the key equalities impacts when setting out their initial scenario plans for workforce reductions, which will include departments completing equality impact assessments, should proposals be agreed following a robust assessment. Civil Service bodies in developing their plans were also reminded that early and continuing trade union engagement should be taking place. Alongside that, Civil Service HR will continue to update unions at the national level.

Ministers: Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost of Ministerial salaries to the Exchequer was in (a) July 2021, (b) August 2021, (c) September 2021, (d) October 2021, (e) November 2021, (f) December 2021, (g) January 2022, (h) February 2022, (i) March 2022, (j) April 2022, (k) May 2022, (l) June 2022 and (m) July 2022.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Limits on the number of salaries that can be paid and at what level are imposed by the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. Government departments are responsible for paying ministerial salaries and publish relevant information in their annual reports and accounts, which can be found on gov.uk. Salary information for 2021-22 will be included in departments’ 2021-22 annual reports and accounts currently being published.The Government also publishes information about the salary entitlements and salaries claimed at different ministerial ranks. This information can be found at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1027301/Salaries_of_Members_of_Her_Majestys_Government_-_Financial_Year_2021-22_-_Publication.pdf

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Consultants

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the corporate officer of the House of Commons has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.

Sir Charles Walker: The House has spent the following amounts on external consultants in each of the last five financial years:FY 2017/18 - £1,024,000FY 2018/19 - £1,360,000FY 2019/20 - £2,530,000FY 2020/21 - £3,701,000FY 2021/22 - £3,232,000The Clerk has implemented a policy governing the use of consultants including requirements for justification of the use of consultants and maximum daily rates.The total spend on consultancy per year is consistent with analysis provided in the published House of Commons Administration Annual Report and Accounts.The information has been compiled in the table attached showing the relevant and requested data over the last five financial years.a) Amount paid to each consultancy contracted is provided in ‘Amount paid’ columns for each yearb) Name of each consultancy contracted is provided in ‘Consultants’ columnc) Specific matters on which they were consulted is provided in ‘Consultation matters’ columns for each year.Amount spent on consultancies (xlsx, 43.2KB)